The governor of New Hampshire is the

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years.

is one of only two states, along with bordering

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, to hold gubernatorial elections every two years as opposed to every four. Currently, the state's 83rd governor is Republican Kelly Ayotte, who has served since January 9, 2025. In New Hampshire, the governor has no

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

of any kind. Only two governors have served more than three terms since the 18th century (when the term was for only one year), John Lynch, who won a fourth two-year term on November 2, 2010, and Chris Sununu, who won a fourth two-year term on November 8, 2022. John Taylor Gilman had been the last governor before Lynch to serve longer than six years, serving 14 one-year terms as governor between 1794 and 1816. Gilman is one of seven governors to serve non-consecutive terms, the others being John Langdon, John Sullivan, William Plumer, Benjamin Pierce, James A. Weston, and John Gilbert Winant. Unlike in many other states in which executive councils are merely advisory, the

Executive Council of New Hampshire The Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (colloquially referred to as the Governor's Council) is the executive body of New Hampshire in the United States. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check o ...

has a strong check on the governor's power. The five-member council has a veto over many actions of the governor. Together, the governor and Executive Council approve contracts with a value of $5,000 or more, approve

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

s, and appoint the directors and commissioners, judges, the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and officers in the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

. To be qualified to be governor, one must be 30 years of age, a registered voter, and domiciled in New Hampshire for at least seven years.

Title

Traditionally, the

governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the colonial

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was an English colony and later a British province in New England. It corresponds to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America. It was named after the Englis ...

were titled as "President of New Hampshire", beginning with the appointment of the province's first president, John Cutt, in 1679. After independence, from 1786 to 1791, "President of the State of New Hampshire" was the official style of the position. The New Hampshire Constitution was amended in 1791 to replace "President" with "Governor".

Function

The Constitution of New Hampshire details the duties and powers of the governor: * Act as a supreme executive magistrate * Shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws * When a disagreement exists between the two legislative chambers, the governor with advice of the executive council shall have the right to adjourn or prorogue the general court * The governor may direct a session of the General Court to be held at another location within the state in cases where there is danger to the health or lives of the members * Power to

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

bills and resolutions presented to the governor by the General Court * Nomination of all judicial officers, the attorney general, and all officers of the militia with the approval of the executive council * Act as the commander-in-chief for all military forces of the state * Power to

offenses, except those convicted by the Senate and impeached by the House * Money issued out of the state treasury shall be by warrant under the hand of the governor and with advice of the council

Succession

Established by Part 2, Article 49 of the Constitution of New Hampshire.

References

External links

;Official * ; General information *
Governors of New Hampshire
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:New Hampshire, Governor Of *

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...