The Governor is elected by the Duma of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug for a term of five years.

On 18 November 1991, Alexander Filipenko was appointed Head of Administration of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug by the decree of the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin.

Following the countrywide cancelation of the direct gubernatorial elections, which occurred in December 2004, Filipenko's fourth term was legitimised by the regional legislature.

On 8 February 2010, with the expiration of Filipenko's term of office, the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev proposed the candidacy of MP Natalya Komarova to the Duma of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.

[2] Despite the fact that elections of the governors by popular vote were legalised again in 2012, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug had chosen to keep the vote-in-parliament procedure, but now without the president's sorting of the candidates list.