# List of United States governors born outside the United States

In total, 72 governors of U.S. states have been born outside the current territory of the United States. Joe Lombardo of Nevada, born in Japan, is the only current governor to have been born outside the United States. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan (whose terms both ended in January 2011), and Kate Brown of Oregon (whose term ended in January 2023) are the other most recent foreign-born governors.
Of the fifty states, 30 (or 60 percent) have had at least one governor born outside the United States. 19 states have had multiple governors who were born outside the United States. Georgia has had six foreign-born governors, who all served in office during the 18th century. The other states with the most foreign-born governors are Wisconsin (five), Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oregon (four each). Additionally, from 1905 to 1921 Utah had three consecutive foreign-born governors (John Cutler, William Spry, and Simon Bamberger).
Of the 72 foreign-born governors, 59 were born in Europe and thirteen were born in North America, including the Caribbean. A total of 30 U.S. governors have been born on the present territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (fifteen in England, seven in Scotland, six in Northern Ireland, and two in Wales), with another 2 born on territory of the Republic of Ireland while part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and 2 while part of the pre-union Kingdom of Ireland. Nine governors have been born within the present territory of Canada, seven Germany, five Norway, five Sweden, three France, three Mexico, and one Austria.
Only three foreign-born women have served as U.S. governors – Madeleine Kunin of Vermont, who was born in Switzerland; Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, who was born in Canada; and Kate Brown of Oregon, who was born in Spain.

## List
### 18th century

Governors who were succeeded by other foreign-born governors are marked with a dagger (†). Governors who were preceded by other foreign-born governors are marked with a section sign (§).
| Name | State | Birthplace (current country) | Then the territory of | Term start | Term end |
| John McKinly | Delaware | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Ireland | February 12, 1777 | September 22, 1777 |
| Button Gwinnett$^†$ | Georgia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | March 4, 1777 | May 8, 1777 |
| John A. Treutlen$^§$ | Georgia | Germany | Holy Roman Empire | May 8, 1777 | January 10, 1778 |
| John Wereat | Georgia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | August 6, 1779 | January 4, 1780 |
| William Fleming | Virginia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | June 4, 1781 | June 12, 1781 |
| Thomas Burke | North Carolina | Ireland | Kingdom of Ireland | June 26, 1781 | April 22, 1782 |
| Edward Telfair | Georgia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | January 9, 1786 | January 9, 1787 |
| Edward Telfair | Georgia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | November 11, 1789 | November 7, 1793 |
| Samuel Johnston | North Carolina | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | December 20, 1787 | December 17, 1789 |
| George Handley | Georgia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | January 7, 1788 | January 7, 1789 |
| William Paterson | New Jersey | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Ireland | October 29, 1790 | March 30, 1793 |
| James Jackson | Georgia | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | January 12, 1798 | March 3, 1801 |
| William Davie | North Carolina | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | December 7, 1798 | November 23, 1799 |

### 19th century

Governors who were succeeded by other foreign-born governors are marked with a dagger (†). Governors who were preceded by other foreign-born governors are marked with a section sign (§).
| Name | State | Birthplace (current country) | Then the territory of | Term start | Term end |
| Edward Tiffin$^†$ | Ohio | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Great Britain | March 3, 1803 | March 4, 1807 |
| Thomas Kirker$^§$ | Ohio | United Kingdom | Kingdom of Ireland | March 4, 1807 | December 12, 1808 |
| Pierre Derbigny | Louisiana | France | Kingdom of France | December 15, 1828 | October 6, 1829 |
| Arthur MacArthur Sr. | Wisconsin | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | March 21, 1856 | March 25, 1856 |
| John G. Downey | California | Ireland | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 14, 1860 | January 10, 1862 |
| Edward Salomon | Wisconsin | Germany | Kingdom of Prussia | April 19, 1862 | January 4, 1864 |
| Michael Hahn | Louisiana | Germany | Kingdom of Bavaria | March 4, 1864 | March 4, 1865 |
| Jacob Dolson Cox | Ohio | Canada | British Empire | January 8, 1866 | January 13, 1868 |
| Robert B. Lindsay | Alabama | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | November 26, 1870 | November 17, 1872 |
| Thomas L. Young | Ohio | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | March 2, 1877 | January 14, 1878 |
| William E. Smith | Wisconsin | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 7, 1878 | January 2, 1882 |
| George P. Wetmore | Rhode Island | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | May 26, 1885 | May 29, 1887 |
| Frank Bell | Nevada | Canada | British Empire | September 21, 1890 | January 5, 1891 |
| James E. Boyd | Nebraska | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 8, 1891 | January 13, 1893 |
| Knute Nelson | Minnesota | Norway | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 4, 1893 | January 31, 1895 |
| John Peter Altgeld | Illinois | Germany | Nassau | January 10, 1893 | January 11, 1897 |
| Frederic T. Greenhalge | Massachusetts | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 4, 1894 | March 5, 1896 |
| John Edward Jones$^†$ | Nevada | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 7, 1895 | April 10, 1896 |
| Roger Allin | North Dakota | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 10, 1895 | January 6, 1897 |
| Reinhold Sadler$^§$ | Nevada | Poland | Kingdom of Prussia | April 10, 1896 | January 5, 1903 |
| John Lind | Minnesota | Sweden | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 2, 1899 | January 7, 1901 |

### 20th century

Governors who were succeeded by other foreign-born governors are marked with a dagger (†). Governors who were preceded by other foreign-born governors are marked with a section sign (§).
| Name | State | Birthplace (current country) | Then the territory of | Term start | Term end |
| Fred M. Warner | Michigan | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 1, 1905 | January 2, 1911 |
| John Cutler$^†$ | Utah | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 2, 1905 | January 4, 1909 |
| Frank R. Gooding | Idaho | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 2, 1905 | January 4, 1909 |
| John McLane | New Hampshire | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 5, 1905 | January 3, 1907 |
| James O. Davidson | Wisconsin | Norway | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 1, 1906 | January 2, 1911 |
| William Spry$^{§†}$ | Utah | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 4, 1909 | January 1, 1917 |
| Aram J. Pothier | Rhode Island | Canada | British Empire | January 5, 1909 | January 5, 1915 |
| Aram J. Pothier | Rhode Island | Canada | British Empire | January 6, 1925 | February 4, 1928 |
| Adolph Eberhart | Minnesota | Sweden | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | September 21, 1909 | January 5, 1915 |
| Oswald West$^†$ | Oregon | Canada | British Empire | January 11, 1911 | January 12, 1915 |
| John K. Tener | Pennsylvania | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 17, 1911 | January 19, 1915 |
| James Withycombe$^§$ | Oregon | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 12, 1915 | March 3, 1919 |
| Moses Alexander$^†$ | Idaho | Germany | Kingdom of Bavaria | January 4, 1915 | January 6, 1919 |
| Simon Bamberger$^§$ | Utah | Germany | Hesse-Darmstadt | January 1, 1917 | January 3, 1921 |
| Octaviano Larrazolo | New Mexico | Mexico | Mexico | January 1, 1919 | January 1, 1921 |
| D. W. Davis$^§$ | Idaho | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 6, 1919 | January 1, 1923 |
| Ragnvald Nestos | North Dakota | Norway | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | November 23, 1921 | January 7, 1925 |
| Roland H. Hartley | Washington | Canada | British Empire | January 12, 1925 | January 9, 1933 |
| A. W. Norblad | Oregon | Sweden | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | December 21, 1929 | January 12, 1931 |
| Frank Henry Cooney | Montana | Canada | British Empire | March 13, 1933 | December 15, 1935 |
| Walter Welford | North Dakota | United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | February 2, 1935 | January 6, 1937 |
| Hjalmar Petersen | Minnesota | Denmark | Denmark | August 22, 1936 | January 4, 1937 |
| Julius P. Heil | Wisconsin | Germany | German Empire | January 2, 1939 | January 4, 1943 |
| John Moses | North Dakota | Norway | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 5, 1939 | January 4, 1945 |
| Sigurd Anderson | South Dakota | Norway | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 2, 1951 | January 4, 1955 |
| Christian Herter | Massachusetts | France | French Third Republic | January 8, 1953 | January 3, 1957 |
| J. Hugo Aronson | Montana | Sweden | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 5, 1953 | January 2, 1961 |
| Joseph B. Johnson | Vermont | Sweden | United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | January 6, 1955 | January 8, 1959 |
| John Swainson$^†$ | Michigan | Canada | British Empire | January 1, 1961 | January 1, 1963 |
| John N. Dempsey | Connecticut | Ireland | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 21, 1961 | January 6, 1971 |
| George Romney$^§$ | Michigan | Mexico | Mexico | January 1, 1963 | January 22, 1969 |
| Samuel H. Shapiro | Illinois | Estonia | Russian Empire | May 21, 1968 | January 13, 1969 |
| Raúl Héctor Castro | Arizona | Mexico | Mexico | January 6, 1975 | October 20, 1977 |
| John Sununu | New Hampshire | Cuba | Cuba | January 6, 1983 | January 4, 1989 |
| Madeleine Kunin | Vermont | Switzerland | Switzerland | January 10, 1985 | January 10, 1991 |
| Stan Stephens | Montana | Canada | British Empire | January 2, 1989 | January 4, 1993 |
| Lowell Weicker | Connecticut | France | French Third Republic | January 9, 1991 | January 4, 1995 |

### 21st century

| Name | State | Birthplace (current country) | Then the territory of | Term start | Term end |
| Jennifer Granholm | Michigan | Canada | Canada | January 1, 2003 | January 1, 2011 |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | California | Austria | Allied-occupied Austria | November 13, 2003 | January 3, 2011 |
| Kate Brown | Oregon | Spain | Spanish State | February 18, 2015 | January 9, 2023 |
| Joe Lombardo | Nevada | Japan | Japan | January 2, 2023 | present |

## By birthplace

| Country | State or Province | No. of governors |
| Austria | Styria | 1 |
| Canada | Alberta | 1 |
| Canada | British Columbia | 1 |
| Canada | Colony of New Brunswick | 1 |
| Canada | Ontario | 4 |
| Canada | Quebec | 2 |
| Canada | TOTAL | 9 |
| Cuba | Havana | 1 |
| Denmark | Zealand | 1 |
| Estonia | | 1 |
| France | Hauts-de-France | 1 |
| France | Paris | 2 |
| France | TOTAL | 3 |
| Germany | | 7 |
| Ireland | | 4 |
| Japan | Sapporo | 1 |
| Mexico | Chihuahua | 2 |
| Mexico | Sonora | 1 |
| Mexico | TOTAL | 3 |
| Norway | | 5 |
| Poland | Province of Posen | 1 |
| Spain | Community of Madrid | 1 |
| Sweden | | 5 |
| Switzerland | Canton of Zürich | 1 |
| United Kingdom | England | 15 |
| United Kingdom | Northern Ireland | 6 |
| United Kingdom | Scotland | 7 |
| United Kingdom | Wales | 2 |
| United Kingdom | TOTAL | 30 |

## By state

| State | No. of governors |
| Alabama | 1 |
| Arizona | 1 |
| California | 2 |
| Connecticut | 2 |
| Delaware | 1 |
| Georgia | 6 |
| Idaho | 3 |
| Illinois | 2 |
| Louisiana | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 2 |
| Michigan | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4 |
| Montana | 3 |
| Nebraska | 1 |
| Nevada | 4 |
| New Hampshire | 2 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 |
| North Carolina | 3 |
| North Dakota | 4 |
| Ohio | 4 |
| Oregon | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 2 |
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Utah | 3 |
| Vermont | 2 |
| Virginia | 1 |
| Washington | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 5 |