List of deputy chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |
---|---|
Tamiḻnāṭu Tuṇai Mutalamaiccar | |
![]() | |
Incumbent Vacant since 7 May 2021 | |
Nominator | Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
Appointer | Governor of Tamil Nadu |
Inaugural holder | M. K. Stalin |
Formation | 29 May 2009 |
Website | www |
The Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the deputy to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who is head of the government of Tamil Nadu. The deputy chief minister is the second highest ranking member of the Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers.[1] A deputy chief minister also holds a cabinet portfolio in the state ministry. In the legislative assembly system of government, the chief minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet; the position of deputy chief minister is used to govern the state with the support of a single party member or to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government, or in times of state emergency, when a proper chain of command is necessary. On multiple occasions, proposals have arisen to make the post permanent, but without result. The same goes for the post of deputy prime minister at the national level.
The office has since been only intermittently occupied, having been occupied for a little more than 5 years out of the 12 years since its inauguration. Since 2009 Tamil Nadu has had 2 deputy chief ministers, of which none having at least one full term. The first was former chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi's third son M. K. Stalin[2] of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party, who was sworn in on 29 May 2009, also home minister in Karunanidhi's fifth ministry. The post was vacant until O. Panneerselvam[3] of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party became the second deputy chief minister in 2017, who took on the role in addition to his finance minister-ship in Edappadi K. Palaniswami's government, Also he remains Tamil Nadu's longest-serving deputy chief minister and was the last person to serve as the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu until the post became vacant.
The current government does not have a deputy chief minister and the post has been vacant since 7 May 2021.
List[edit]
No. | Portrait | Name
(Birth–Death) |
Elected Constituency | Political Party[lower-alpha 1] | Term of office[4] | Chief Minister | Appointed by | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assumed Office | Left Office | Time in Office | |||||||||
1 | ![]() |
M. K. Stalin (1953–) |
Thousand Lights | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 29 May 2009 | 15 May 2011 | 1 year, 351 days | M. Karunanidhi | Surjit Singh Barnala | ||
Vacant (16 May 2011 – 20 August 2017) | |||||||||||
2 | ![]() |
O. Panneerselvam (1951–) |
Bodinayakkanur | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 21 August 2017 | 6 May 2021 | 3 years, 258 days | Edappadi K. Palaniswami | C. Vidyasagar Rao | ||
Vacant (Since 7 May 2021) |
Statistics[edit]
- List of deputy chief ministers by length of term
No. | Name | Party | Length of term | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Longest continuous term | Total years of premiership | ||||
1 | O. Panneerselvam | AIADMK | 3 years, 258 days | 3 years, 258 days | |
2 | M. K. Stalin | DMK | 1 year, 351 days | 1 year, 351 days |
- Timeline

- List by party
No. | Political party | Number of Deputy chief ministers | Total days of holding Deputy CMO |
---|---|---|---|
1 | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 1 | 1354 days |
2 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 1 | 716 days |
- Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Deputy Chief Minister's Office

Living former deputy chief ministers[edit]
As of 30 March 2025, there are two living former deputy chief ministers of Tamil Nadu:
- Living former deputy chief ministers
M. K. Stalin
(2009–2011)
March 1, 1953O. Panneerselvam
(2017–2021)
January 14, 1951
See also[edit]
- History of Tamil Nadu
- Elections in Tamil Nadu
- List of governors of Tamil Nadu
- Chief Secretariat of Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
- List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
- List of current Indian deputy chief ministers
- List of chief ministers of Madras Presidency
- List of Speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
- List of leaders of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Notes[edit]
- ↑ This column only names the deputy chief minister's party. The state government he heads with chief minister may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
References[edit]
- ↑ Rajendran, S. (13 July 2012). "Of Deputy Chief Ministers and the Constitution". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ↑ "Karunanidhi makes Stalin Deputy Chief Minister". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ↑ "Panneerselvam sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu". Business Standard. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ↑ The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period