The Speaker of the

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...

is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu, the main law-making body for 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 ...

. He is elected by the members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (until 1968, the Madras Legislative Assembly). The speaker is always a member of the Legislative Assembly.

List of presidents of the Madras Legislative Council

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

, the first representative legislature for the

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 ...

(political predecessor for Tamil Nadu) was inaugurated in December 1920 as per the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. The presiding officer of the council was known as the President. The first President, Sir P. Rajagopalachari was not elected but nominated and took office on 17 December 1920.

List of chairmen of Madras Legislative Council

With the introduction of provincial autonomy in 1937, the Council became the upper chamber of a bicameral legislature. The presiding officer of the council was called as the "Chairman of the Council". This agreement continued in the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

as well till the council's abolition in 1986.

List of speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Madras Presidency

The

Government of India Act of 1935 The Government of India Act 1935 ( 25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 42) was an act passed by the British Parliament that originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest act that the British Parliament ever enacted until the Greater L ...

abolished dyarchy and ensured provincial autonomy. It created a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

legislature in the

. The legislature consisted of the governor and two legislative bodies – a legislative assembly and a

legislative council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. The presiding officer of the assembly was called the "Speaker".

List of speakers

Madras State

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 ...

, precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after Indian independence on 26 January 1950. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 first legislature of the Madras State to be elected on the basis of

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

was constituted on 1 March 1952, after the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

held in January 1952.Government of Tamil Nadu — The State Legislature — Origin and Evolution

Tamil Nadu

Madras was renamed Tamil Nadu in January 1969.

Pro tem Speaker

List of Pro tem Speakers

* M. Abdul Lathief 2001 * D. Sudarsanam 2006 * C. K. Tamizhrasan 2011 * S. Semmalai 2016 * K. Pitchandi 2021

References

{{reflist Speakers, lower houses

Speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...