Governor of Colorado

The **Governor of Colorado** is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government.

The governor is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason or impeachment. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.

The current governor is Democrat Jared Polis, who took office on January 8, 2019.

## List of governors

|scope="col"||scope="col" colspan="3"|Governor|scope="col"|Term in office|scope="col"|Party|scope="col"|Election|scope="col" colspan="2"|Lt. Governor|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|data-sort-value="Routt, John"||rowspan="3" style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 14, 1879 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1876|rowspan="5" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Head, Lafayette"|Lafayette Head||||||
|rowspan="2"|2|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Pitkin, Frederick"||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 9, 1883 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|1878|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Tabor, Horace"|Horace Tabor||||||
|1880||||||||||||
|3|data-sort-value="Grant, James"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 13, 1885 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1882|data-sort-value="Meyer, William"|William H. Meyer||||||||
|4|data-sort-value="Eaton, Benjamin"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 11, 1887 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1884|data-sort-value="Breene, Peter"|Peter W. Breene||||||||
|5|data-sort-value="Adams, Alva"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 8, 1889 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1886|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Meldrum, Norman"|Norman H. Meldrum||||||
|6|data-sort-value="Cooper, Job"||rowspan="2" style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 13, 1891 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1888|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Smith, William"|William Grover Smith||||||
|7|data-sort-value="Routt, John"|||||||||||
|– January 10, 1893 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1890|data-sort-value="Story, William"|William Story||||||||
|8|data-sort-value="Waite, Davis"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 8, 1895 <small>(lost election)</small>|Populist|1892|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Nichols, David"|David H. Nichols||||||
|9|data-sort-value="McIntire, Albert"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 12, 1897 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1894|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Brush, Jared"|Jared L. Brush||||||
|10|data-sort-value="Adams, Alva"||rowspan="3" style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 10, 1899 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1896||||||||||
|11|data-sort-value="Thomas, Charles"|||||||||||
|– January 8, 1901 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1898|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Carney, Francis"|Francis Patrick Carney||||||
|12|data-sort-value="Orman, James"|||||||||||
|– January 13, 1903 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1900|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Coates, David"|David C. Coates||||||
|13|data-sort-value="Peabody, James"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 10, 1905 <small>(lost election)</small>|Republican|1902|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Haggott, Warren"|Warren A. Haggott||||||
|14|data-sort-value="Adams, Alva"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– March 16, 1905 <small>(declared loser in election)</small>|Democratic|rowspan="2"|1904|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Cornforth, Arthur"|Arthur Cornforth|||||
|15|data-sort-value="Peabody, James"||rowspan="4" style="background:;"|||||||||
|– March 17, 1905 <small>(resigned)</small>|Republican|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="McDonald, Jesse"|Jesse Fuller McDonald|||||||
|rowspan="2"|16|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="McDonald, Jesse"||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 8, 1907 <small>(did not run for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|rowspan="2" style="background:#eee;"|<small>Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor</small>|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Cornforth, Arthur"|Arthur Cornforth <small>(removed July 5, 1905)</small>|||
|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Parks, Fred"|Fred W. Parks|||||||||
|17|data-sort-value="Buchtel, Henry"|||||||||||
|– January 12, 1909 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1906|data-sort-value="Harper, Erastus"|Erastus Harper||||||||
|rowspan="2"|18|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Shafroth, John"||rowspan="3" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 14, 1913 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Democratic|1908|rowspan="3" style="background:;"||rowspan="3" data-sort-value="Fitzgarrald, Stephen"|Stephen R. Fitzgarrald||||
|1910||||||||||||
|19|data-sort-value="Ammons, Elias"|||||||||||
|– January 12, 1915 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1912||||||||||
|20|data-sort-value="Carlson, George"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 9, 1917 <small>(lost election)</small>|Republican|1914|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Lewis, Moses"|Moses E. Lewis||||||
|21|data-sort-value="Gunter, Julius"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 14, 1919 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1916|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Pulliam, James"|James Pulliam||||||
|rowspan="2"|22|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Shoup, Oliver"||rowspan="2" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 9, 1923 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|1918|rowspan="3" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Stephan, George"|George Stephan||||
|1920|data-sort-value="Cooley, Earl"|Earl Cooley||||||||||
|23|data-sort-value="Sweet, William"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 13, 1925 <small>(lost election)</small>|Democratic|1922|data-sort-value="Rockwell, Robert"|Robert F. Rockwell||||||||
|24|data-sort-value="Morley, Clarence"||style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 11, 1927 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Republican|1924|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Lacy, Sterling"|Sterling Byrd Lacy||||||
|rowspan="3"|25|rowspan="3" data-sort-value="Adams, Billy"||rowspan="7" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="3"|– January 10, 1933 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="3"|Democratic|1926|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Corlett, George"|George Milton Corlett||||
|1928||||||||||||
|1930|rowspan="3" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Johnson, Edwin"|Edwin C. Johnson||||||||
|rowspan="2"|26|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Johnson, Edwin"||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 1, 1937 <small>(resigned)</small>|rowspan="2"|Democratic|1932|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Talbot, Ray"|Ray Herbert Talbot||||||
|1934||||||||||||
|27|data-sort-value="Talbot, Ray"|||||||||||
|– January 12, 1937 <small>(successor took office)</small>|Democratic|style="background:#eee;"|<small>Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor</small>|colspan="2" style="background:#eee;"|_Vacant_|||||||
|28|data-sort-value="Ammons, Teller"|||||||||||
|– January 10, 1939 <small>(lost election)</small>|Democratic|1936|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Hayes, Frank"|Frank Hayes||||||
|rowspan="2"|29|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Carr, Ralph"||rowspan="4" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 12, 1943 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|1938|rowspan="4" style="background:;"||rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Vivian, John"|John Charles Vivian||||
|1940||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|30|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Vivian, Charles"||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 14, 1947 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|1942|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Higby, William"|William Eugene Higby||||||
|1944||||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|31|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Knous, William"||rowspan="3" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– April 15, 1950 <small>(resigned)</small>|rowspan="2"|Democratic|1946|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Pearson, Homer"|Homer L. Pearson||||
|1948|data-sort-value="Johnson, Walter"|Walter Walford Johnson||||||||||
|32|data-sort-value="Johnson, Walter"|||||||||||
|– January 9, 1951 <small>(lost election)</small>|Democratic|style="background:#eee;"|<small>Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor</small>|rowspan="3" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Murphy, Charles"|Charles P. Murphy|||||
|rowspan="2"|33|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Thornton, Daniel"||rowspan="2" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 11, 1955 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|1950|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Allott, Gordon"|Gordon Allott||||||
|1952||||||||||||
|34|data-sort-value="Johnson, Edwin"||rowspan="3" style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 8, 1957 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|1954|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="McNichols, Stephen"|Stephen McNichols||||||
|rowspan="2"|35|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="McNichols, Stephen"||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 8, 1963 <small>(lost election)</small>|rowspan="2"|Democratic|1956|style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Hays, Frank"|Frank L. Hays||||
|1958|rowspan="3" style="background:;"||rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Knous, Robert"|Robert Lee Knous||||||||
|rowspan="3"|36|rowspan="3" data-sort-value="Love, John"||rowspan="4" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="3"|– July 16, 1973 <small>(resigned)</small>|rowspan="3"|Republican|1962||||||||
|1966|data-sort-value="Hogan, Mark"|Mark Anthony Hogan||||||||||
|1970|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Vanderhoof, John"|John D. Vanderhoof||||||||
|37|data-sort-value="Vanderhoof, John"|||||||||||
|– January 14, 1975 <small>(lost election)</small>|Republican|style="background:#eee;"|<small>Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor</small>|data-sort-value="Strickland, Ted"|Ted L. Strickland|||||||
|rowspan="3"|38|rowspan="3" data-sort-value="Lamm, Richard"||rowspan="8" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="3"|– January 13, 1987 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|rowspan="3"|Democratic|1974|rowspan="5" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Brown, George"|George L. Brown||||
|1978|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Dick, Nancy"|Nancy E. Dick||||||||||
|1982||||||||||||
|rowspan="5"|39|rowspan="5" data-sort-value="Romer, Roy"||||||||||
|rowspan="5"|– January 12, 1999 <small>(term limited)</small>|rowspan="5"|Democratic|1986|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Callihan, Mike"|Mike Callihan <small>(resigned May 10, 1994)</small>||||||
|rowspan="3"|1990|||||||||||
|colspan="2" style="background:#eee;"|_Vacant_|||||||||||
|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Cassidy, Samuel"|Samuel H. Cassidy <small>(took office May 11, 1994)</small>|||||||||
|1994|data-sort-value="Schoettler, Gail"|Gail Schoettler||||||||||
|rowspan="2"|40|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="Owens, Bill"||rowspan="2" style="background:;"||||||||
|rowspan="2"|– January 9, 2007 <small>(term limited)</small>|rowspan="2"|Republican|1998|rowspan="2" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="Rogers, Joe"|Joe Rogers||||
|2002|data-sort-value="Norton, Jane"|Jane E. Norton||||||||||
|41|data-sort-value="Ritter, Bill"||rowspan="5" style="background:;"|||||||||
|– January 11, 2011 <small>(not candidate for election)</small>|Democratic|2006|rowspan="5" style="background:;"||data-sort-value="O'Brien, Barbara"|Barbara O'Brien||||||
|rowspan="3"|42|rowspan="3" data-sort-value="Hickenlooper, John"||||||||||
|rowspan="3"|– January 8, 2019 <small>(term limited)</small>|rowspan="3"|Democratic|2010|rowspan="2" data-sort-value="García, Joseph"|Joseph García <small>(resigned May 12, 2016)</small>||||||
|rowspan="2"|2014|||||||||||
|data-sort-value="Lynne, Donna"|Donna Lynne|||||||||||
|43|data-sort-value="Polis, Jared"|||||||||||
|– present|Democratic|2018|data-sort-value="Primavera, Dianne"|Dianne Primavera||||||||

## Living former Governors of Colorado

As of February 2026, there are four living former Governors of Colorado, the oldest being Roy Romer, who served as the 39th Governor of Colorado (served 1987-1999), at 97. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Richard Lamm, who served as the 43rd Governor of Colorado (served 1975-1987) on July 29, 2021.

## Infobox (political post)

- **post**: Governor
- **body**: Colorado
- **insignia**: Seal of the Executive Office of Colorado.svg
- **insigniasize**: 110px
- **insigniacaption**: Seal of the Executive Office
- **imagesize**: 200px
- **image**: Jared Polis official photo (cropped).jpg
- **incumbent**: Jared Polis
- **incumbentsince**: January 8, 2019
- **style**: The Honorable
- **termlength**: Four years, renewable once consecutively
- **residence**: Colorado Governor's Mansion
- **inaugural**: John Long Routt
- **formation**: August 1, 1876
- **deputy**: Dianne Primavera
- **salary**: $90,000 (2013)
- **website**: [http://www.colorado.gov/governor/ www.colorado.gov/governor]