List of governors of Assam facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Assam
Emblem of Assam
Incumbent Lakshman Prasad Acharya since 30 July 2024
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Raj Bhawan, Guwahati
Appointer	President of India
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Inaugural holder	Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari (Independent India) Nicholas Beatson-Bell (Pre-Independent India)
Formation	3 January 1921; 104 years ago (1921-01-03)
Website	https://rajbhavan.assam.gov.in

The Governor of Assam is like the head of the state of Assam in India. Think of them as the President's representative in the state. They are chosen by the President of India and play a very important role in how the state is run. This article lists the people who have held this important position, starting from when the British first took control of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. The current Governor is Lakshman Acharya.

What Does a Governor Do?

The Governor has several key jobs and powers:

• Executive Powers: These are about running the state. The Governor helps with appointments, like choosing important officials, and can also remove them.
• Lawmaking Powers: The Governor is involved in making laws for the state. They work with the state's lawmaking body, called the Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad.
• Special Powers: Sometimes, the Governor has to make decisions on their own, using their best judgment. These are called discretionary powers.

Assam's Leaders Through History

Assam has had many different types of leaders over the years, especially during the time when the British ruled India.

Early British Control (1824–1874)

When the British first came to Assam in 1824, they had military commanders in charge. After a peace treaty in 1826, Assam became part of British India. For a while, it was managed by "political agents" and then by "commissioners" who reported to the Governor of Bengal.

• British Military Commanders (1824–1826):

* George McMorine, 1824 * Arthur Richards, 1824–26

• British Political Agents (1826–1828):

* David Scott, 1826–28

• Commissioners of Assam (1828–1874):

* David Scott, 1828–1831 * Thomas Campbell Robertson, 1831–1834 * Francis Jenkins, 1834–1861 * Henry Hopkinson, 1861–1874

Chief Commissioners and Lieutenant Governors (1874–1921)

In 1874, Assam became its own separate province, led by a "Chief Commissioner." Later, for a few years, it was joined with East Bengal and led by a "Lieutenant Governor." Then, it went back to being led by a Chief Commissioner.

• Chief Commissioners of Assam (1874–1905):

* Richard Harte Keatinge, 1874–1878 * Steuart Colvin Bayley, 1878–1881 * Sir Charles Alfred Elliott, 1881–1885 * William Erskine Ward, 1885–1887 (first time) * Sir Dennis Fitzpatrick, 1887–1889 * James Westland, 1889 * James Wallace Quinton, 1889–1891 * William Erskine Ward, 1891–1896 (second time) * Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, 1896–1902 * Sir Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, 1902–1905

• Lieutenant Governors of East Bengal and Assam (1905–1912):

* Sir Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, 1905–1906 * Lancelot Hare, 1906–1911 * Charles Stuart Bayley, 1911–1912

• Chief Commissioners of Assam (1912–1921):

* Sir Archdale Earle, 1912–1918 * Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson-Bell, 1918–1921

Governors of Assam Before Independence (1921–1947)

In 1921, the role of Chief Commissioner was changed to a "Governor," giving the position more power.

• Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson-Bell, 3 January 1921 – 2 April 1921
• Sir William Sinclair Marris, 3 April 1921 – 10 October 1922
• Sir John Henry Kerr, 10 October 1922 – 28 June 1927
• Sir Egbert Laurie Lucas Hammond, 28 June 1927 – 11 May 1932
• Sir Michael Keane, 11 May 1932 – 4 March 1937
• Sir Robert Niel Reid, 4 March 1937 – 4 May 1942
  • Henry Joseph Twynam, 24 February 1938 – 4 October 1939 (acting for Reid)
• Sir Andrew Gourlay Clow, 4 May 1942 – 4 May 1947
  • Frederick Chalmers Bourne, 4 April 1946 – ? (acting for Clow)
  • Henry Foley Knight, 4 September 1946 – 23 December 1946 (acting for Clow)
• Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, 4 May 1947 – 15 August 1947

Governors of Assam Since India's Independence (1947–Present)

After India gained independence in 1947, the role of Governor became even more important as they represented the President of India in the state. Here is a list of all the Governors of Assam since then:

No.	Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Duration	Home State	Appointed by
1.	Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari		15 Aug 1947	29 Dec 1948	1 year, 136 days	Andhra Pradesh	Lord Mountbatten
-	Ronald Francis Lodge (acting)		30 December 1948	15 February 1949	47 days	Not Known	C. Rajagopalachari
2.	Sri Prakasa		16 Feb 1949	26 May 1950	1 year, 99 days	Uttar Pradesh
3.	Jairamdas Daulatram		27 May 1950	14 May 1956	5 years, 353 days	British India	Rajendra Prasad
4.	Saiyid Fazal Ali		15 May 1956	22 August 1959	3 years, 99 days	Bihar
5.	Chandreswar Prasad Sinha		23 August 1959	13 October 1959	51 days	Not Known
6.	Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh		14 October 1959	12 November 1960	1 year, 29 days	Maharashtra
7.	Vishnu Sahay		13 November 1960	12 February 1961	91 days	Uttar Pradesh
(6).	Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh		13 February 1961	7 September 1962	1 year, 206 days	Maharashtra
(7).	Vishnu Sahay		8 September 1962	16 April 1968	5 years, 221 days	Uttar Pradesh	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
8.	Braj Kumar Nehru		17 April 1968	7 December 1970	2 years, 234 days		Zakir Husain
-	Parbati Kumar Goswami (acting for Nehru)		8 December 1970	4 January 1971	27 days	Assam	V. V. Giri
(8).	Braj Kumar Nehru		5 January 1971	18 September 1973	2 years, 256 days	Uttar Pradesh
9.	Lallan Prasad Singh		19 September 1973	11 August 1981	7 years, 326 days	Bihar
10.	Prakash Mehrotra		12 August 1981	28 March 1984	2 years, 229 days	Uttar Pradesh	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
11.	Tribeni Sahai Misra		29 March 1984	15 April 1984	17 days	Not Known	Zail Singh
12.	Bhishma Narain Singh		16 April 1984	11 May 1989	5 years, 25 days	Jharkhand
13.	Harideo Joshi		12 May 1989	26 July 1989	75 days	Rajasthan	R. Venkataraman
14.	Anisetti Raghuvir		27 July 1989	1 May 1990	278 days	Not Known
15.	Devi Das Thakur		2 May 1990	16 March 1991	318 days	Jammu and Kashmir
16.	Loknath Mishra		17 March 1991	31 August 1997	6 years, 167 days	Odisha
17.	Srinivas Kumar Sinha		1 September 1997	20 April 2003	5 years, 231 days	Bihar	K. R. Narayan
18.	Arvind Dave		21 April 2003	4 June 2003	44 days	Rajasthan	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
19.	Ajai Singh		5 June 2003	3 July 2008	5 years, 28 days
20.	Shiv Charan Mathur		4 July 2008	25 June 2009	356 days		Pratibha Patil
21.	K Sankaranarayanan		26 June 2009	26 July 2009	30 days	Kerala
22.	Syed Sibtey Razi		27 July 2009	10 December 2009	136 days	Uttar Pradesh
23.	Janaki Ballabh Patnaik		11 November 2009	11 December 2014	5 years, 30 days	Odisha
24.	Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya		12 December 2014	21 August 2016	1 year, 253 days	Karnataka	Pranab Mukherjee
25.	Banwarilal Purohit		22 August 2016	9 October 2017	1 year, 48 days	Maharashtra
26.	Jagdish Mukhi		10 October 2017	14 February 2023	5 years, 127 days	Delhi	Ramnath Kovind
27.	Gulab Chand Kataria		22 February 2023	29 July 2024	1 year, 158 days	Rajasthan	Draupadi Murmu
28.	Lakshman Prasad Acharya		30 July 2024	Incumbent	327 days	Uttar Pradesh

See Also

• History of Assam
• Chief Minister of Assam
• Governors of India