The governor of Tamil Nadu is the head 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 ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Governors in India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of 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 ...

at the central level. They exist in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

appointed by the

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 A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the chief minister of the state and their

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 ...

. The current incumbent is

R. N. Ravi Ravindra Narayana Ravi (born 3 April 1952) is an Indian politician and former bureaucrat serving as the current Governor of Tamil Nadu. Ravi served as Governor of Nagaland from 1 August 2019 to 9 September 2021 and as Governor of Meghalaya fr ...

, who has served since 18 September 2021.(20th if governors with additional charge also counted)

Powers and functions

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 before independence

This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, initially of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947.

English Agents

In 1639, the grant of Madras to the

was finalized between the factors of the Masulipatnam (now

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

) factory (

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

), represented by

Francis Day Francis Talbot Day (2 March 1829 – 10 July 1889) was an army surgeon and naturalist in the Madras Presidency who later became the Inspector-General of Fisheries in British Raj, India and British rule in Burma, Burma. A pioneer ichthyologist, ...

, and the Raja of Chandragiri. In 1640,

Andrew Cogan Sir Andrew Cogan, 1st Baronet also known as Andrew Coggan (born circa 1600, Greenwich, England; died circa 1660) was the first agent of the English East India Company to rule Madras (a. k. a. Chennai). He was the chief of the Masul ...

, the chief of the Masulipatnam factory, made his way to Madras in the company of Francis Day and the English and Indian employees of the Masulipatnam factory. The Agency of Madras was established on 1 March 1640 and Cogan was made the first Agent. The official title was 'Governor of Fort St George' and the Governor was usually referred to as Agent. Cogan served in the post for three years and was succeeded by Francis Day. After four agents had served their terms, Madras was upgraded to a Presidency during the time of

Aaron Baker Aaron Eli Baker (1610–1683) of Bowhay in the parish of Exminster, near Exeter, Devon, was an English colonial agent of the Honourable East India Company, who served as the first President of the Madras Presidency (1652-1655). He was for the ...

. However financial considerations forced the company to revert to an agency soon after Aaron Baker had served his term. The Agency survived until 1684 when Madras was made a Presidency once and for all.

Streynsham Master Sir Streynsham Master (28 October 1640 – 28 April 1724) was an English colonial administrator who was one of the 17th-century pioneers of the English East India Company. He served as the Agent of Madras from 27 January 1678 to 3 July 1681, ...

is the best remembered and most renowned of the Agents of Madras.

Presidents

was elevated to a

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

in 1684 and remained so until 12 February 1785 when new rules and regulations brought by the Pitt's India Act reformed the administration of the East India Company with the exception of a three-year period of French rule from 1746 to 1749 when Madras was a governorship. Subsequently,

Elihu Yale Elihu Yale (5 April 1649 – 8 July 1721) was a British Americans, British-American Colonialism, colonial administrator. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, a ...

who took charge on 8 August 1684 was the First President of Madras.

Thomas Pitt Thomas Pitt (5 July 1653 – 28 April 1726) was an English merchant, colonial administrator and politician who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1698 to 1709. Born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, he eventually went to the Indian ...

and George Macartney are some of the well-known Presidents of Madras.

Governors of the French East India Company

In 1746, Dupleix's deputy, La Bordannais laid siege to Madras and captured the city. For the next three years, Madras remained under French Governors, until 1749, when Madras was handed to the British as per the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappele. The illustrious Mahe de la Bordannais served as acting Governor for a few months until the appointment of Governor Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil, who served until 1749 when Madras reverted to British rule.

Presidents of the British East India Company

During the period between 1746 and 1749, when Madras was under French rule, the British ran a provisional government from Fort St. David, near modern-day Porto Novo. In 1752, when Madras had been returned to the British, the then President of Madras, John Saunders, shifted the seat of government from Fort David to Madras. The British gained a lot of territory during the mid-18th century, so that by the time the French military power was crushed at the

Battle of Wandiwash The Battle of Wandiwash was a battle in India between the French and the British in 1760. The battle was part of the Third Carnatic War fought between the French and British colonial empires, which itself was a part of the global Seven Years' ...

in 1761, the territory under the Presidency of Madras had increased manyfold. In 1785, the Province of Madras was created and the President became the Governor of Madras.

Governors (of British India)

Madras Presidency and Madras State

Headquartered in

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

was a province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu, the

Malabar region The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regions of the subcontin ...

of North

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, the

coastal A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and

Rayalaseema Rayalaseema (IAST: ''Rāyalasīma'') is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises four southern districts of the State, from prior to the districts reorganisation in 2022, namely Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, and ...

regions of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, and the

Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is located in the states and territories of India, state of Karnataka in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east and the ...

, and

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

districts of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. It was established in 1653 to be the headquarters of the English settlements on the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

. After India's

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947,

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

, 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 Karnataka and Kerala.Tamil Nadu Secretariat — Brief History
(

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

, 17 September 2008)

Governors

Graphical

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1946 till:1972 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1946 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:PA value:blue legend: Appointed id:GP value:red legend: Acting Legend = columns:2 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:100 Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:TNG PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:TNG from:1946 till:1948 color:PA text:" Sir Archibald Edward Nye (1946 – 1948)" from:1948 till:1952 color:PA text:" Maharaja Krishna Kumarasingh Bhavasingh (1948 – 1952)" from:1952 till:1956 color:PA text:"

Sri Prakasa Sri Prakasa (3 August 1890 – 23 June 1971) was an Indian politician, freedom-fighter and administrator. He served as India's first High Commissioner to Pakistan from 1947 to 1949, Governor of Assam from 1949 to 1950, Governor of Madras from ...

(1952 – 1956)" from:1956 till:1958 color:PA text:" A. J. John, Anaparambil (1956 – 1958)" from:1958 till:1958 color:GP text:" Dr. Pakala Venkata Rajamannar (1958 – 1958)" from:1958 till:1964 color:PA text:"

Bhishnuram Medhi Bishnuram Medhi (24 April 1888 – 21 January 1981) was an Indian politician and freedom-fighter who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 1950 to 1957 and Governor of Madras State from January 1958 till May 1964. Early life Bishnuram ...

(1958 – 1964)" from:1964 till:1964 color:PA text:" Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur of Mysore (1964 – 1964)" from:1964 till:1965 color:GP text:" P. Chandra Reddy (1964 – 1965)" from:1965 till:1966 color:PA text:" Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur of Mysore (1965 – 1966)" from:1966 till:1969 color:PA text:"

Sardar Ujjal Singh Governor Ujjal Singh (27 December 1895 – 15 February 1983) was an Indian politician who was a participant in the First Round Table Conference, opened officially by King George V on 12 November 1930. Ujjal Singh served as the Finance Minister ...

(1966 – 1969)"

Tamil Nadu

Madras State was renamed as Tamil Nadu (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

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. ;Graphical

Records

* 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).

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the Governor of Tamil Nadu
{{Governors of Tamil Nadu

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...