Governor of Negros Occidental

Governor of Negros Occidental Gobernador sang Probinsya sang Negros Occidental
Seal of the Province of Negros Occidental
Incumbent Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr. since June 30, 2010
Style	The Honorable His Excellency (formerly, Spanish era)
Seat	Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol, Bacolod City
Appointer	COMELEC (Commission on Election)
Term length	3 years
Inaugural holder	Pedro de Alcaraz (de facto, as Corregidor of Negros Island) Melecio Severino (de jure, as elected Governor of Negros Island)
Formation	1901
Deputy	Vice Governor
Website	Negros Occidental Provincial Government [1]

The Governor of Negros Occidental is the local chief executive and head of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental. Along with the Governor of Negros Oriental and the Mayor of highly-urbanized City of Bacolod, he sits in the Regional Development Council of the Negros Island Region.

Before independence, the position had been occupied by appointed Spanish military commanders that also serve the role of Governor since the transfer of the capital to Bacolod in 1849. Previously, the local chief executive post was vested on the "Corregidor," or the commander of the military outpost, in the two previous capitals of Ilog, Negros Occidental and Himamaylan.

After the Negros Revolution, all provincial authority divested on the Office of the President and Vice President, representing Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. Americans occupied the fledgling republic and requested the provisional government to conduct an island-wide election for the gubernatorial post. Melecio Severino of Silay emerged as the first elected governor.

As with the President of the Philippines, the role of Governor is passed on to the Vice Governor of Negros Occidental in case of incapacity, resignation or death. But unlike the national line of succession, the Board Member designated as the first in line for garnering the highest number of votes succeeds as Vice Governor, also the same should only the Vice Governor be incapacitated. Should both the Governor and Vice Governor be incapacitated, the same would succeed as Governor and the Board Member with the second highest number of votes would succeed as Vice Governor.

By the convention set for the newly-created Negros Island Region, the Governor of Negros Occidental sits as chairperson of one of the two regional councils, namely the Regional Development Council and the Regional Peace and Order Council. Currently, the Governor of Negros Occidental, Alfredo Marañon, sits as chairperson of the Regional Development Council.