List of governors of Tamil Nadu

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Governor of Tamil Nadu
Tamiḻnāṭu Āḷunar
TamilNadu Logo.svg
Flag of India.png
R.N. Ravi.jpg
Incumbent
R. N. Ravi

since 18 September 2021
StyleHis Excellency
StatusHead of State
Reports toPresident of India
Government of India
Residence
AppointerPresident of India
Term lengthFive years
Renewable
Inaugural holderArchibald Edward Nye
(1946–48)
Formation6 May 1946; 78 years ago (1946-05-06)
Salary350,000 (US$4,900) (per month)
Websitewww.tnrajbhavan.gov.in
The state of Tamil Nadu in India has had 26 Governors since 1946

The governor of Tamil Nadu is the head of state of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The governors have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at central level. They exist in the state appointed by the President of India for a term of 5 years and they are not local to the state that they are appointed to govern. The factors based on which the President evaluates the candidates is not mentioned in the constitution. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the chief minister of the state and their council of ministers.

The current incumbent is R. N. Ravi since 18 September 2021.

Powers and functions[edit]

The Governor enjoys many different types of powers:

  • Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,
  • Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad, and
  • Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the Governor.

Governors[edit]

Madras Presidency and Madras State[edit]

Headquartered in Fort St. George, Madras Presidency was a province of British India. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu, the Malabar region of North Kerala, the coastal and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, and the Bellary, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi districts of Karnataka. It was established in 1653 to be the headquarters of the English settlements on the Coromandel Coast. After India's independence in 1947, Madras State, the precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was carved out of Madras Presidency. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day Jack Barlow, Karnataka and Kerala.[1]

Tabular[edit]

# Name Took Office Left Office Term[nb 1]
1 Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Edward Nye[2] 6 May 1946 7 September 1948 1
2 Maharaja Sir Krishna Kumarasinhji Bhavsinhji 7 September 1948 12 March 1952 1
3 Sri Prakasa 12 March 1952 10 December 1956 1
4 A. J. John 10 December 1956 30 September 1957 1
- Pakala Venkata Rajamannar (acting) 1 October 1957 24 January 1958 1
5 Bhishnuram Medhi 24 January 1958 4 May 1964 1
6 Maharaja Sir Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur 4 May 1964 24 November 1964 1
- P. Chandra Reddy (acting)[3] 24 November 1964 7 December 1965 1
(6) Maharaja Sir Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur[nb 2] 7 December 1965 28 June 1966 1
7 Sardar Ujjal Singh (acting till 16 June 1967) 28 June 1966 14 January 1969 1

Graphical[edit]

Sardar Ujjal SinghMaharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur of MysoreP. Chandra ReddyMaharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur of MysoreBhishnuram MedhiDr. Pakala Venkata RajamannarA. J. John, AnaparambilSri PrakasaMaharaja Krishna Kumarasingh BhavasinghSir Archibald Edward Nye

Tamil Nadu[edit]

Madras State was renamed as Tamil Nadu (Tamil for Tamil country) on 14 January 1969. Governors have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at the Central government level. The Governor acts as the nominal head of the state while the Chief Ministers of the states and the Chief Minister's Council of Ministers are invested with most executive powers.

Tabular
S.No Portrait Name
(birth–death)
Term of office[4] Previous post Appointed by
1 Sardar Ujjal Singh
(1895–1983)
14 January 1969 25 May 1971 2 years, 131 days Governor of Punjab Zakir Hussain
2 No image available.svg Kodardas Kalidas Shah
(1908–1986)
26 May 1971 15 June 1976 5 years, 20 days - Varaha Venkata Giri
3 Mohan Lal Sukhadia 1988 stamp of India.jpg Mohan Lal Sukhadia
(1916–1982)
16 June 1976 8 April 1977 296 days Governor of Andhra Pradesh Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
- No image available.svg P. Govindan Nair 9 April 1977 26 April 1977 17 days - Basappa Danappa Jatti
4 No image available.svg Prabhudas Patwari
(1909–1985)
27 April 1977 26 October 1980 3 years, 182 days Indian Lawyer
- No image available.svg M. M. Ismail

(1921–2005)
27 October 1980 3 November 1980 37 days Chief Justice of Madras High Court Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
5 No image available.svg Sadiq Ali
(1910–2001)
4 November 1980 2 September 1982 1 year, 302 days Governor of Maharashtra
6 No image available.svg Sundar Lal Khurana
(1918–2007)
3 September 1982 16 February 1988 5 years, 166 days Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Giani Zail Singh
7 No image available.svg P. C. Alexander
(1921–2011)
17 February 1988 23 May 1990 2 years, 95 days I.A.S Officer R. Venkataraman
8 H E Shri Surjit Singh Barnala.jpg Surjit Singh Barnala
(1925–2017)
24 May 1990 14 February 1991 266 days Chief Minister of Punjab
9 No image available.svg Bhishma Narain Singh
(1933–2018)
15 February 1991 30 May 1993 2 years, 104 days Governor of Assam
10 Marri Chenna Reddy
(1919–1996)
31 May 1993 2 December 1996[†] 3 years, 185 days Governor of Rajasthan Shankar Dayal Sharma
- Krishan Kant 2005 stamp of India.jpg Krishan Kant
(additional charge)[5]
(1927–2002)
2 December 1996 24 January 1997 53 days Governor of Andhra Pradesh
11 Justice Fathima Beevi.JPG M. Fathima Beevi
(1927-)
25 January 1997 2 July 2001 4 years, 158 days Judge of the Supreme Court of India
- C. Rangrajan at the Conference on "Fiscal Policy in India" (cropped).jpg C. Rangarajan
(additional charge)
(1932-)
3 July 2001 17 January 2002 198 days Governor of the Reserve Bank of India K. R. Narayanan
12 No image available.svg P. S. Ramamohan Rao
(1934-)
18 January 2002 2 November 2004 2 years, 289 days I.P.S Officer A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(8) H E Shri Surjit Singh Barnala.jpg Surjit Singh Barnala
(1925–2017)
3 November 2004 30 August 2011 6 years, 300 days Governor of Andhra Pradesh
13 Konijeti Rosaiah BNC.jpg Konijeti Rosaiah
(1933–2021)
31 August 2011 1 September 2016 5 years, 1 day Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Pratibha Patil
- Vidhyasagar Rao.jpg C. Vidyasagar Rao
(additional charge)
(1942–)
2 September 2016 5 October 2017 1 year, 33 days Governor of Maharashtra Pranab Mukherjee
14 Banwarilal Purohit.jpg Banwarilal Purohit
(1939–)
6 October 2017 17 September 2021 3 years, 346 days Governor of Assam Ram Nath Kovind
15 R.N. Ravi.jpg R. N. Ravi
(1952–)
18 September 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 38 days Governor of Nagaland
Graphical
R. N. RaviBanwarilal PurohitC. Vidyasagar RaoKonijeti RosaiahSurjit Singh BarnalaP. S. Ramamohan RaoC. RangarajanM. Fathima BeeviKrishan KantMarri Chenna ReddyBhishma Narain SinghSurjit Singh BarnalaP. C. AlexanderSundar Lal KhuranaSadiq AliM. M. IsmailPrabhudas PatwariP. Govindan NairMohan Lal SukhadiaKodardas Kalidas ShahSardar Ujjal Singh

Records[edit]

  • Surjit Singh Barnala is the only appointed Governor to have served two terms in office (24 May 1990–15 February 1991 and 3 November 2004–31 August 2011).
  • The longest term in office was that of Surjit Singh Barnala who served as the Governor for a period of almost six and a half years (3 November 2004–31 August 2011).
  • The shortest term in office was that of M. M. Ismail who served as the acting Governor for a period of nine days (27 October 1980–4 November 1980).
  • The longest term in office as additional in-charge was that of C. Vidyasagar Rao for a period of 1 year 1 month and 4 days (2 September 2016– 6 October 2017).

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period
  2. This term is a continuation of the Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur's first term. P. Chandra Reddy served as the acting Governor while Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur was on foreign tours.

References[edit]

  1. Tamil Nadu Secretariat — Brief History Archived 2007-01-06 at Archive.today (Government of Tamil Nadu, 17 September 2008)
  2. [Formerly the last Governor of the Madras Presidency.]
  3. HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P.CHANDRA REDDI Archived 2008-09-30 at the Wayback Machine (High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, 20 September 2008)
  4. The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period
  5. Past Governors (Raj Bhavan, Chennai, 20 September 2008)

External links[edit]