The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as Governor of North-West Frontier Province) is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province, or NWFP), Pakistan. Although the governor is the head of the province on paper, it is largely a ceremonial position; and the main powers lie with the elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the senior-most bureaucrat in the province.
| Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
|---|---|
 Government Seal | |
 Government Flag | |
| Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
| Style | The Honorable (formal) |
| Residence | KP Governor House |
| Seat | Peshawar |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Appointer | President of Pakistan |
| Term length | 5 years |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Pakistan |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 |
| First holder | George Cunningham (as Governor of North-West Frontier Province) |
| Website | https://governor.kp.gov.pk/ |
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However, throughout the history of Pakistan, the powers of the provincial governors were vastly increased, when the provincial assemblies were dissolved and the administrative role came under direct control of the governors, as in the cases of martial laws of 1958–1972 and 1977–1985, and governor rules of 1999–2002. In the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there were two direct governor rules, in 1975 and 1994, when the provincial chief ministers of those times were removed and assemblies dissolved.[1]
List of governors
edit| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Affiliation | Term length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir George Cunningham | 15 August 1947 | 9 April 1948 | Indian Civil Service | 238 days |
| 2 | Sir Ambrose Dundas Flux Dundas | 19 April 1948 | 16 July 1949 | Indian Civil Service | 1 year, 88 days |
| 3 | Sahibzada Mohammad Khurshid | 16 July 1949 | 14 January 1950 | Independent | 182 days |
| 4 | Mohammad Ibrahim Khan Jhagra | 14 January 1950 | 17 February 1950 | Judiciary | 34 days |
| 5 | Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar | 17 February 1950 | 23 November 1951 | Muslim League | 1 year, 279 days |
| 6 | Khwaja Shahabuddin | 24 November 1951 | 17 November 1954 | Muslim League | 2 years, 358 days |
| 7 | Qurban Ali Shah | 17 November 1954 | 14 October 1955 | Independent | 331 days |
| Provinces merged to form West Pakistan (14 October 1955 – 1 July 1970) | |||||
| 8 | Lt Gen K. M. Azhar | 1 July 1970 | 25 December 1971 | Presidency of Yahya Khan | 1 year, 177 days |
| 9 | Hayat Sherpao | 25 December 1971 | 30 April 1972 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 127 days |
| 10 | Arbab Sikandar Khan | 29 April 1972 | 15 February 1973 | National Awami Party | 292 days |
| 11 | Aslam Khattak | 15 February 1973 | 24 May 1974 | National Awami Party | 1 year, 98 days |
| 12 | Syed Ghawas | 24 May 1974 | 1 March 1976 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 1 year, 282 days |
| 13 | Naseerullah Babar | 1 March 1976 | 6 July 1977 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 1 year, 127 days |
| 14 | Abdul Hakeem Khan | 6 July 1977 | 17 September 1978 | Civil Administration | 1 year, 73 days |
| 15 | Lt Gen Fazle Haq | 11 October 1978 | 12 December 1985 | Presidency of Zia-ul-Haq | 7 years, 62 days |
| 16 | Nawabzada Abdul Ghafoor Khan Hoti | 30 December 1985 | 18 April 1986 | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam | 109 days |
| 17 | Syed Usman Ali Shah | 18 April 1986 | 27 August 1986 | Civil Administration | 131 days |
| 18 | Fida Mohammad Khan | 27 August 1986 | 16 June 1988 | Pakistan Muslim League (F) | 1 year, 294 days |
| 19 | Amir Gulistan Janjua | 16 June 1988 | 19 July 1993 | Independent | 5 years, 33 days |
| 20 | Khurshid Ali Khan | 19 July 1993 | 5 November 1996 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 3 years, 109 days |
| 21 | Arif Bangash | 11 November 1996 | 17 August 1999 | Independent | 2 years, 279 days |
| 22 | Miangul Aurangzeb | 18 August 1999 | 21 October 1999 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 64 days |
| 23 | Lt Gen Mohammad Shafiq | 21 October 1999 | 14 August 2000 | Presidency of Pervez Musharraf | 298 days |
| 24 | Lt Gen Iftikhar Hussain Shah | 14 August 2000 | 15 March 2005 | Presidency of Pervez Musharraf | 4 years, 213 days |
| 25 | Khalilur Rehman | 15 March 2005 | 23 May 2006 | Pakistan Muslim League (Q) | 1 year, 69 days |
| 26 | Lt Gen Ali Jan Orakzai | 24 May 2006 | 7 January 2008 | Presidency of Pervez Musharraf | 1 year, 228 days |
| 27 | Owais Ahmed Ghani | 7 January 2008 | 9 February 2011 | Independent | 3 years, 33 days |
| 28 | Syed Masood Kausar | 10 February 2011 | 10 February 2013 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 2 years, 0 days |
| 29 | Shaukatullah Khan | 10 February 2013 | 14 April 2014 | Pakistan Peoples Party | 1 year, 63 days |
| 30 | Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi | 15 April 2014 | 8 February 2016 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 1 year, 299 days |
| 31 | Iqbal Zafar Jhagra | 25 February 2016 | 20 August 2018 | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | 2 years, 176 days |
| 32 | Shah Farman | 5 September 2018 | 16 April 2022 | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | 3 years, 223 days |
| 33 | Haji Ghulam Ali | 23 November 2022 | 4 May 2024 | Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) | 1 year, 163 days |
| 34 | Faisal Karim Kundi | 5 May 2024 | Incumbent | Pakistan People’s Party | 2 years, 52 days |