# Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province, or NWFP), Pakistan. Although the governor is the head of the province on paper, it is largely a ceremonial position; and the main powers lie with the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
However, throughout the history of Pakistan, the powers of the provincial governors were vastly increased, when the provincial assemblies were dissolved and the administrative role came under direct control of the governors, as in the cases of martial laws of 1958–1972 and 1977–1985, and governor rules of 1999–2002. In the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there were two direct governor rules, in 1975 and 1994, when the provincial chief ministers of those times were removed and assemblies dissolved.

## List of governors

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Affiliation | Term Length |
| 1 | Sir George Cunningham | 15 August 1947 | 9 April 1948 | Indian Civil Service | 7 months, 25 days |
| 2 | Sir Ambrose Dundas Flux Dundas | 19 April 1948 | 16 July 1949 | Indian Civil Service | 1 year, 2 months, 27 days |
| 3 | Sahibzada Mohammad Khurshid | 16 July 1949 | 14 January 1950 | Independent | 5 months, 29 days |
| 4 | Mohammad Ibrahim Khan Jhagra | 14 January 1950 | 17 February 1950 | Judiciary | 1 month, 3 days |
| 5 | Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar | 17 February 1950 | 23 November 1951 | Muslim League | 1 year, 9 months, 6 days |
| 6 | Khwaja Shahabuddin | 24 November 1951 | 17 November 1954 | Muslim League | 2 years, 11 months, 24 days |
| 7 | Qurban Ali Shah | 17 November 1954 | 14 October 1955 | Independent | 10 months, 27 days |
| Provinces merged to form West Pakistan (14 October 1955 – 1 July 1970) ||||||
| 8 | Lt Gen K. M. Azhar | 1 July 1970 | 25 December 1971 | Martial Law | 1 year, 5 months, 24 days |
| 9 | Hayat Sherpao | 25 December 1971 | 30 April 1972 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 4 months, 5 days |
| 10 | Arbab Sikandar Khan | 29 April 1972 | 15 February 1973 | National Awami Party | 9 months, 17 days |
| 11 | Aslam Khattak | 15 February 1973 | 24 May 1974 | National Awami Party | 1 year, 3 months, 9 days |
| 12 | Syed Ghawas | 24 May 1974 | 1 March 1976 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 1 year, 9 months, 5 days |
| 13 | Naseerullah Babar | 1 March 1976 | 6 July 1977 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 1 year, 4 months, 5 days |
| 14 | Abdul Hakeem Khan | 6 July 1977 | 17 September 1978 | Civil Administration | 1 year, 2 months, 11 days |
| 15 | Lt Gen Fazle Haq | 11 October 1978 | 12 December 1985 | Martial Law | 7 years, 2 months, 1 day |
| 16 | Nawabzada Abdul Ghafoor Khan Hoti | 30 December 1985 | 18 April 1986 | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam | 3 months, 19 days |
| 17 | Syed Usman Ali Shah | 18 April 1986 | 27 August 1986 | Civil Administration | 4 months, 9 days |
| 18 | Fida Mohammad Khan | 27 August 1986 | 16 June 1988 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 1 year, 9 months, 20 days |
| 19 | Amir Gulistan Janjua | 16 June 1988 | 19 July 1993 | Independent | 5 years, 1 month, 3 days |
| 20 | Khurshid Ali Khan | 19 July 1993 | 5 November 1996 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 3 years, 3 months, 17 days |
| 21 | Arif Bangash | 11 November 1996 | 17 August 1999 | Independent | 2 years, 9 months, 6 days |
| 22 | Miangul Aurangzeb | 18 August 1999 | 21 October 1999 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 2 months, 3 days |
| 23 | Lt Gen Mohammad Shafiq | 21 October 1999 | 14 August 2000 | Martial Law | 9 months, 24 days |
| 24 | Lt Gen Iftikhar Hussain Shah | 14 August 2000 | 15 March 2005 | Martial Law | 4 years, 7 months, 1 day |
| 25 | Khalilur Rehman | 15 March 2005 | 23 May 2006 | Pakistan Muslim League (Q) | 1 year, 2 months, 8 days |
| 26 | Lt Gen Ali Jan Orakzai | 24 May 2006 | 7 January 2008 | Martial Law | 1 year, 7 months, 14 days |
| 27 | Owais Ahmed Ghani | 7 January 2008 | 9 February 2011 | Independent | 3 years, 1 month, 2 days |
| 28 | Syed Masood Kausar | 10 February 2011 | 10 February 2013 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 2 years |
| 29 | Shaukatullah Khan | 10 February 2013 | 14 April 2014 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 1 year, 2 months, 4 days |
| 30 | Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi | 15 April 2014 | 8 February 2016 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 1 year, 9 months, 24 days |
| 31 | Iqbal Zafar Jhagra | 25 February 2016 | 20 August 2018 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 2 years, 5 months, 25 days |
| 32 | Shah Farman | 5 September 2018 | 11 April 2022 | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | 3 years, 7 months, 6 days |
| 33 | Haji Ghulam Ali | 23 November 2022 | 4 May 2024 | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) | 1 year, 5 months, 11 days |
| 34 | Faisal Karim Kundi | 5 May 2024 | Incumbent | Pakistan Peoples Party | 217 days |