Governor of Tamil Nadu
Tamiḻnāṭu Āḷunar
Emblem of Tamil Nadu
Incumbent
Rajendra Arlekar
(Additional Charge)
since 12 March 2026
Style His Excellency
Status Head of state
Reports to President of India
Residence
  • Lok Bhavan, Chennai
  • Lok Bhavan, Udhagamandalam
Appointer President of India
Formation 7 September 1948; 77 years ago (1948-09-07)
First holder
  • Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji
    (as Governor of Madras State)
  • Ujjal Singh
    (as Governor of Tamil Nadu)
Website tnlokbhavan.gov.in

The governor of Tamil Nadu is the constitutional head of state of Tamil Nadu and the representative of the president of India in the state. In the state, the governor holds an important position in ensuring that the administration functions according to the constitution of India. They are appointed by the president and serve as the nominal executive authority of the state. The governor’s official residences are the Lok Bhavan, located in Chennai and Udhagamandalam. The governor performs various duties, such as giving assent to bills passed by the state legislative assembly, appointing the chief minister, and overseeing the constitutional functioning of the state government. Although the real executive power lies with the council of ministers headed by the chief minister, the governor plays a vital role in maintaining the constitutional framework and stability of the state administration.[1]

The current incumbent is Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who has been serving as an additional charge since 12 March 2026.[2]

Qualifications

Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:

A governor:

  • must be at least 35 years of age.
  • should not be a member of either the houses of the parliament or the house of the state legislature.
  • should not hold any office of profit.

Traditionally, governors are not appointed to lead the states where they reside, although this is not stipulated in the constitution.

Powers and functions

See also: Powers and functions of the Governor

The governor has:

  • Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals
  • Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislative assembly and
  • Discretionary powers are to be carried out according to the discretion of the Governor.

In his ex-officio capacity, the governor of Tamil Nadu is chancellor of the universities of Tamil Nadu as per the Acts of the Universities.

List

Key
  • RES Resigned
  • † Died in office
  •   Acting / Additional Charge
  • § Transferred
Governors of Madras Province
No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

 Home state Term of office Appointed by
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 Archibald Nye
(1895–1967)		 Not applicable 15 August 1947 6 September 1948 1 year, 22 days Lord Mountbatten
2 Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji
(1912–1965)		 Gujarat 7 September 1948 25 January 1950 1 year, 140 days C. Rajagopalachari
Development after independence

Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Province of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was adopted and included the present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala till 1 November 195.

Governors of Madras State
No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

 Home state Term of office Appointed by
Assumed office Left office Time in office
1 Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji
(1912–1965)		 Gujarat 26 January 1950 11 March 1952 2 years, 45 days C. Rajagopalachari
2 Sri Prakasa
(1890–1971)		 Uttar Pradesh 12 March 1952 9 December 1956 [§][α] 4 years, 272 days Rajendra Prasad
3 A. J. John
(1893–1957)		 Keralam 10 December 1956 30 September 1957 [†] 294 days
– P. V. Rajamannar
(1901–1979)
(Acting)		 Tamil Nadu 1 October 1957 24 January 1958 115 days
4 Bishnu Ram Medhi
(1888–1981)		 Assam 24 January 1958 3 May 1964 6 years, 100 days
5 Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar
(1919–1974)		 Karnataka 4 May 1964 23 November 1964 203 days Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
– P. Chandra Reddy
(1904–1976)
(Acting)		 Andhra Pradesh 24 November 1964 7 February 1965 75 days
(5) Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar
(1919–1974)		 Karnataka 8 February 1965 [§] 14 August 1965 187 days
– P. Chandra Reddy
(1904–1976)
(Acting)		 Andhra Pradesh 13 August 1965 [§] 19 September 1965 37 days
(5) Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar
(1919–1974)		 Karnataka 20 September 1965 [§] 3 January 1966 105 days
– P. Chandra Reddy
(1904–1976)
(Acting)		 Andhra Pradesh 4 January 1966 [§] 27 June 1966 174 days
6 Ujjal Singh
(1895–1983)		 Punjab 28 June 1966 16 June 1967 2 years, 199 days
17 June 1967 13 January 1969 Zakir Husain
  1. ^ Transferred as the Governor of Bombay State
Change in nomenclature

On 18 July 1967, the state legislative assembly unanimously adopted a resolution recommending that the state government take the necessary steps to secure an amendment to the Constitution of India aimed at changing the name of Madras State to Tamil Nadu. Consequently, the Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968 (Central Act 53 of 1968), was enacted by the Parliament of India and came into effect on 14 January 1969.

# Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

 Home state Term of office Appointer

(President)
Assumed office Left office Term length
1 Ujjal Singh
(1895–1983)		 Punjab 14 January 1969 26 May 1971 2 years, 132 days Zakir Husain
2 Kodardas Kalidas Shah
(1908–1986)		 Gujarat 27 May 1971 15 June 1976 5 years, 19 days Varahagiri Venkata Giri
3 Mohan Lal Sukhadia
(1916–1982)		 Rajasthan 16 June 1976 8 April 1977 296 days Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
4 P. Govindan Nair
(Unknown)
(Acting)		 Kerala 9 April 1977 26 April 1977 17 days B. D. Jatti
5 Prabhudas B. Patwari
(1909–1985)		 Gujarat 27 April 1977 26 October 1980 3 years, 182 days
6 M. M. Ismail
(1921–2005)
(Acting)		 Tamil Nadu 26 October 1980 3 November 1980 8 days Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
7 Sadiq Ali
(1910–2001)		 Rajasthan 4 November 1980 2 September 1982 1 year, 302 days
8 S. L. Khurana
(1918–2007)		 NCT Delhi 3 September 1982 16 February 1988 5 years, 166 days Giani Zail Singh
9 P. C. Alexander
(1921–2011)		 Kerala 17 February 1988 23 May 1990 2 years, 95 days R. Venkataraman
10 Surjit Singh Barnala
(1925–2017)		 Punjab 24 May 1990 14 February 1991 [RES] 266 days
11 Bhishma Narain Singh
(1933–2018)		 Jharkhand 14 February 1991 30 May 1993 [RES] 2 years, 105 days
12 M. Chenna Reddy
(1919–1996)		 Telangana 31 May 1993 2 December 1996 [†] 3 years, 185 days Shankar Dayal Sharma
13 Krishan Kant
(1927–2002)
(Additional Charge)		 Punjab 2 December 1996 25 January 1997 54 days
14 M. Fathima Beevi
(1927–2023)		 Kerala 25 January 1997 25 February 2001 4 years, 31 days
15 C. Rangarajan
(born 1932)
(Additional Charge)		 Tamil Nadu 26 February 2001 15 March 2001 17 days K. R. Narayanan
(14) M. Fathima Beevi
(1927–2023)		 Kerala 16 March 2001 [§] 2 July 2001 108 days
(15) C. Rangarajan
(born 1932)
(Additional Charge)		 Tamil Nadu 3 July 2001 [§] 17 January 2002 198 days
16 P. S. Ramamohan Rao
(born 1934)		 Andhra Pradesh 18 January 2002 2 November 2004 2 years, 289 days
(10) Surjit Singh Barnala
(1925–2017)		 Punjab 3 November 2004 [§] 30 August 2011 6 years, 300 days A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
17 K. Rosaiah
(1933–2021)		 Andhra Pradesh 31 August 2011 2 September 2016 5 years, 2 days Pratibha Devisingh Patil
18 C. Vidyasagar Rao
(born 1941)
(Additional Charge)		 Telangana 2 September 2016 5 October 2017 1 year, 33 days Pranab Mukherjee
19 Banwarilal Purohit
(born 1940)		 Rajasthan 6 October 2017 17 September 2021 [§][α] 3 years, 346 days Ram Nath Kovind
20 R. N. Ravi
(born 1952)		 Bihar 18 September 2021 12 March 2026 [§][β] 4 years, 174 days
21 Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
(born 1954)
(Additional Charge)		 Goa 12 March 2026 Incumbent 58 days Droupadi Murmu
  1. ^ Transferred as the Governor of Punjab
  2. ^ Transferred as the Governor of West Bengal

See also

  • History of Tamil Nadu
  • Politics of Tamil Nadu
  • Lok Bhavan, Chennai
  • Elections in Tamil Nadu
  • Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
  • List of current Indian governors
  • Lok Bhavan, Udhagamandalam
  • Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
  • Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
  • Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
  • Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
  • List of leaders of the house in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

References

  1. ^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th edition, 2011 reprint. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. p. 237, 241–44. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Tamil Nadu as well.
  2. ^ "Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar assumes additional charge as Tamil Nadu Governor". The Hindu. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.