The District Governor, elected for one year at a time, is an Officer of Rotary International (RI), whose selection is governed by the RI Bylaws. The District Governor also serves as the Chair of the Board (District Council) of Rotary District 1420 ry, which operates under Finnish law. The district’s bylaws contain important provisions regarding the governor’s selection.
The district selects a District Governor Nominee, whose selection is confirmed at RI’s annual Convention. The RI Bylaws outline three alternative procedures for selecting a nominee. Rotary District 1420 ry has adopted the nominating committee procedure. The other two options are a ballot-by-mail or an election at the district conference. In a ballot, each club votes with a number of votes proportional to its membership. At a conference election, club representatives have the same number of votes.
The composition of the nominating committee is decided at the district’s autumn meeting. In District 1420, the committee traditionally includes members of the District Council and usually two Assistant Governors. In the 2025 autumn meeting, one sitting club president was also elected to the committee.
The selection process begins in early autumn when the Governor contacts clubs and requests nominations using RI’s official form. A club may only nominate one of its own members. After the deadline, the committee opens the envelopes and reviews the nominations. It checks whether candidates meet RI’s requirements, the most important being that the candidate has served a full term as club president. The committee interviews eligible candidates and usually makes its decision in January. According to the rules, the committee must select the “best qualified Rotarian” available. It is not bound by the clubs’ proposals.
Once the Governor receives the committee’s decision, they have three days to inform clubs of the nominee (name and club) and the possibility to challenge the decision. The names of other proposed candidates are not public.
If a challenge occurs, the process proceeds in stages. First, a club whose nominee was not selected may re-nominate their candidate. The Governor then asks other clubs if they support the challenge. At this point, only the name and club of the challenger are known. There may be multiple challengers. If 20 clubs or 30% of all clubs support the challenge, a ballot or conference election is held. At that point, clubs receive more detailed information about both the committee’s nominee and the challenger. The candidate with the most votes becomes the official nominee.
Once the district has made its final selection, the decision may still be reviewed by RI under certain conditions.
Unlike most organizations, RI Bylaws strictly prohibit campaigning or promotion by or on behalf of candidates (Article 13.010). This applies to all stages of the selection process.
Sources:
Bylaws of Rotary International; Articles 12, 13, and 16 Bylaws of Rotary District 1420 ry: §9 Autumn Meeting
