The Governor of Jharkhand is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of Jharkhand and a representative of the president of India. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. Though all official affairs of the state are administered and carried out in the name of the governor, the real executive power rests with the chief minister who is a member of the legislative assembly and is the leader of the majority party in the house. The official residence of the governor is Raj Bhavan. The position of the governor of Jharkhand came into existence following the creation of the state in November 2000 as a result of the bifurcation of Bihar. The first governor to be appointed was Prabhat Kumar who served in office between 2000 and 2002. The current governor is Santosh Gangwar.

Powers and functions

The governor enjoys many different types of powers: Apart from enjoying various constitutional powers, the governor of Jharkhand is the ex-officio Chancellor of the state universities of Jharkhand. The universities include Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University, Birsa Agricultural University, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University, Jharkhand University of Technology, Kolhan University, Nilamber-Pitamber University, Ranchi University, Sido Kanhu Murmu University, and Vinoba Bhave University.

List of governors

Following is the list of governors of Jharkhand since its inception on 15 November 2000. As of date, ten governors have been appointed to office. The first governor was Prabhat Kumar who served from 2000 till 2002. The current governor is Santosh Gangwar who has been in office since 31 July 2024. The first female and the longest serving governor of the state till date is Droupadi Murmu who served as the governor between 2015 and 2021.