The Council of Governors is a group of 10 state governors of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The group was established in January 2010 in order to strengthen the partnership between federal and state governments in protecting the nation against all manner of threats, including terrorism and natural disasters. The Council was created by Executive Order 13528, signed by President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 on January 11, 2010, as recommended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 is a United States law to authorize funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, for military construction, and for national security-related energy programs. In the signing statement, President George W...

 which was passed by the 110th Congress and signed by President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 on January 28, 2008.

Composition

According to the executive order that created the Council, it consists of 10 Governors, no more than 5 of whom may belong to the same political party. All ten members are appointed by the President, and two are designated by him as Co-Chairs. The Co-Chairs may not belong to the same political party. There is also an Executive Director appointed by the Secretary of Defense.

Council members 2010-2011

Role	Name	State	Party	FEMA Region
Executive Director	---	---	---	---
Co-Chair	James Douglas Jim Douglas James H. Douglas is an American politician from the U.S. state of Vermont. A Republican, he was elected the 80th Governor of Vermont in 2002 and was reelected three times with a majority of the vote...	Vermont Vermont Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Region I
Co-Chair	Chris Gregoire	Washington	Democrat Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Region X
Member	Luis Fortuño Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State...	Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...	NPP New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that advocates for Puerto Rico's admission to the United States of America as the 51st state... /Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Region II
Member	Robert McDonnell	Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Region III
Member	Martin O'Malley Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as the 61st Governor of Maryland. Previously, he served as the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. He is currently the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.-Early life, education and career:O'Malley...	Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...	Democrat Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Region III
Member	Beverly Perdue	North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...	Democrat Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Region IV
Member	Brad Henry Brad Henry Charles Bradford "Brad" Henry was the 26th Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected governor in 2002...	Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...	Democrat Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Region VI
Member	Jay Nixon Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon, Sr. is the 55th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Missouri's Attorney General before his election in 2008.-Political career:...	Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...	Democrat Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Region VII
Member	Michael Rounds	South Dakota South Dakota South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Region VIII
Member	Janice Brewer	Arizona Arizona Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Region IX
Secretary of Defense	Leon Panetta Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...	Federal	---	---
Secretary of Homeland Security	Janet Napolitano Janet Napolitano Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...	Federal	---	---
Asst to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism	John O. Brennan John O. Brennan John O. Brennan is chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama; officially his title is Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Assistant to the President...	Federal	---	---
Asst to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement	Valerie Jarrett Valerie Jarrett Valerie Bowman Jarrett is a senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration. She is a Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, and civic leader...	Federal	---	---
Asst Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs	Paul N. Stockton	Federal	---	---
USNORTHCOM Commander	Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr. James A. Winnefeld, Jr. James Alexander "Sandy" Winnefeld, Jr. is a United States Navy four-star admiral who currently serves as the ninth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He previously served as the fourth Commander, U.S. Northern Command and the 21st Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command from...	Federal	---	---
Commandant US Coast Guard	Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr.	Federal	---	---
Chief National Guard Bureau	Craig R. McKinley Craig R. McKinley General Craig Richard McKinley, USAF is the 26th and current Chief, National Guard Bureau. He is the first officer from the National Guard to ever achieve the grade of a four-star general. He also joins George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant as four-star officers who have served as state...	Federal	---	---

Meetings

Meetings of the Council are called by the Secretary of Defense, or the Co-Chairs.
To date, three meetings of the Council have been held. The inaugural meeting was held on February 23, 2010, in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, at the Pentagon

The Pentagon

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

.

A second meeting was held July 11, 2010 in Boston, MA.

A third meeting was scheduled for November 2010.