The chief minister of Puducherry is the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: Places in India * Puducherry (union territory), formerly known as Pondicherry ** Puducherry (city), capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district The Puducherry District, also know ...

. In accordance with the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

, the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

is a union territory's ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. Following elections to the

Puducherry Legislative Assembly The Puducherry Legislative Assembly (French language, French: ''Assemblée législative de Pondichéry'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian States and union territories of India, union territory (UT) of Puducherry (union territory), P ...

, the

usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. The lieutenant governor appoints the chief minister, whose

council of ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

s. Since 1963,

has had 10 chief ministers. The longest-serving and current chief minister, N. Rangasamy from the

All India N.R. Congress The All India N.R. Congress (abbr. AINRC) is a regional List of political parties in India, political party formed by the List of Chief Ministers of Puducherry, Chief Minister of Puducherry, N. Rangaswamy in the Indian union territory of Puduch ...

, held the office for over fifteen years in multiple tenures. The former

governor of Kerala The governor of Kerala is the constitutional head of state of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The governor is appointed by the President of India, and holds office at the President's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' head of the govern ...

M. O. H. Farook has the second-longest tenure, and

V. Vaithilingam V. Vaithilingam (born 5 October 1950) is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress, who currently represents Puducherry in the Lok Sabha. He held the position as 11th Chief Minister of Pondicherry from 1991 to 1996 and 16th ...

from the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

has the third-longest tenure. The inaugural holder Edouard Goubert from the Indian National Congress has the shortest tenure (only 1 year, 71 days). There have been seven instances of president's rule in Puducherry, most recently in 2021. The current incumbent is N. Rangasamy of the

since 7 May 2021.

List of chief counselors

The French settlements in India were in a transition period between the '' de facto transfer day'' (i.e., 1 November 1954) and the ''

transfer day'' (i.e., 16 August 1962). In January 1955, the

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, by an order, renamed these four French settlements in India as the ''State of Pondicherry''. Both these transfer days are official holidays within the

List of chief ministers

On 10 May 1963, the

enacted the ''Government of Union Territories Act, 1963'', which came into force on 1 July 1963. It introduced the same pattern of government that prevailed in the rest of the country, but subject to certain limitations. Under Article 239 of the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

, the

president of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

appoints the

lieutenant governor of Puducherry Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (formerly known as "Pondicherry") is a Union Territory of India. Governance and administration of the territory fall under the federal authority. List of chief governing officers Commissioners * Fra ...

with such designation as he may specify to head the administration of the territory. The lieutenant governor appoints the

. The lieutenant governor, on the advice of the chief minister, appoints the council of ministers. Also, the

representative assembly A representative assembly is a political institution in which a number of persons representing the population or privileged orders within the population of a state come together to debate, negotiate with the executive (originally the king or other ...

was converted into the legislative assembly of Pondicherry on 1 July 1963 as per Section 54(3) of the Union Territories Act, 1963, and its members were deemed to have been elected to the assembly. Thus, the first legislative assembly was formed without an election.

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

for the assembly have been held since 1964. ;Color key for political parties * * * * ;Key * Resigned * Died in office * Resigned following a

no-confidence motion A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

* Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term ;Timeline

Statistics

;List of chief ministers by length of term ;List by party ;Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Chief Minister's Office

List of chief counselors

List of chief ministers

Statistics

See also

Notes

References

External links