The governor is the head of the executive branch of Minnesota's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws.
There have been 41 governors of the state; one, Rudy Perpich, served non-consecutive terms.
Minnesota Territory had three governors appointed by the president of the United States; the first, Alexander Ramsey, would later be state governor.
The current governor is Tim Walz, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, who took office on January 7, 2019.
[19] The Minnesota Constitution of 1858 created the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, elected separately to two-year terms; these were lengthened to four years starting in 1963.