List of governors of Idaho
Wikimedia list article

The governor of Idaho is the head of government of Idaho and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The officeholder has the duty to see state laws are executed, power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Idaho Legislature. The current governor of Idaho is Brad Little, a Republican, who took office on January 7, 2019.
Thirty-one individuals have held the office of governor of Idaho since the state's admission to the Union in 1890, two of whom served non-consecutive terms. The state's first governor, George L. Shoup, had the shortest term, of three months; Cecil Andrus had the longest, of 14 years.
List of governors
Territory of Idaho
Idaho Territory was created from Dakota Territory, Nebraska Territory, and Washington Territory on March 4, 1863.
There were sixteen territorial governors appointed by the president of the United States from the territory's organization in 1863 until the formation of the state of Idaho in 1890. Due to the long distance from Washington, D.C. to Boise, there was often a lengthy gap between a governor being appointed and his arrival in the territory; three resigned before even arriving.
State of Idaho
Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890. The terms for governor and lieutenant governor are 4 years, commencing on the first Monday in the January following the election.
The public source identifies “List of governors of Idaho” as wikimedia list article. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around List, governors and Idaho.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “List of governors of Idaho”, the useful work is to connect “wikimedia list article” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q878260. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2019, 1890 and 1863.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “List of governors of Idaho”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow List of governors of Idaho primary sources, List of governors of Idaho archive and List research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “List of governors of Idaho”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “List of governors of Idaho” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.