List of governors of West Bengal Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of West Bengal
Incumbent C. V. Ananda Bose since 18 November 2022 (2022-11-18)
Style	The Honourable (formal) Mr. Governor (informal) His/Her Excellency
Abbreviation	GoWB
Residence	Raj Bhavan, Kolkata (primary) Raj Bhavan, Darjeeling (summer)
Appointer	President of India
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Precursor	Governor-General of India
Inaugural holder	Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari
Formation	15 August 1947; 77 years ago (1947-08-15)
Salary	₹350,000 (US$6,000) (per month)

The Governor of West Bengal is like the main representative of the President of India in the Indian state of West Bengal. Think of them as the ceremonial head of the state. The governor is chosen and appointed by the President of India. The current governor is C. V. Ananda Bose, who started his role on November 18, 2022.

A Look Back: History of the Governor
- How the Role Changed Over Time
What the Governor Does: Powers and Duties
- Important Roles and Responsibilities
- Governor's Special Roles: Ex Officio Positions
Who Has Been Governor? A List of Leaders
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A Look Back: History of the Governor

How the Role Changed Over Time

A long time ago, in 1911, the capital of India was moved from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi. To make up for this change in Bengal, the leader known as the "lieutenant governor" was replaced. A full "governor" with a special council took over. This brought the role back to how it was about 200 years before. When India became independent in 1947, the title "Governor of Bengal" stayed the same.

What the Governor Does: Powers and Duties

Important Roles and Responsibilities

The Governor of West Bengal has several important jobs and powers. These powers help them manage the state and ensure things run smoothly.

Executive Powers: These are about managing the state's daily business. The governor helps with appointments and removals of officials.
Legislative Powers: These powers are about making laws. The governor works with the state's law-making body, like the Vidhan Sabha.
Discretionary Powers: Sometimes, the governor can make decisions on their own. These are special powers used when needed.

Governor's Special Roles: Ex Officio Positions

The governor also holds many special positions just by being the governor. This is called an ex officio role. For example, the Governor of West Bengal is the head, or Chancellor, of many universities in the state. This means they oversee these important educational institutions.

The governor is also the chairman or president of several important organizations. These include places like the Victoria Memorial Hall and the Indian Museum. They also lead groups like the Indian Red Cross Society in West Bengal.

The Governor of West Bengal also chairs a special fund called the Governor’s Welfare Fund. This fund helps people who are in need, especially with medical treatment costs. The governor often accepts honorary positions in other groups too. These groups do good work for society in many different areas.

Who Has Been Governor? A List of Leaders

This table shows the people who have served as the Governor of West Bengal since India became independent.

Key
•	indicates that this was an additional charge

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration	Home State	Appointed by
1.	Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari	15 August 1947	21 June 1948	311 days	Tamil Nadu	Lord Mountbatten
2.	Kailash Nath Katju	21 June 1948	1 November 1951	3 years, 133 days	Madhya Pradesh	Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari
3.	Harendra Coomar Mookerjee	1 November 1951	8 August 1956	4 years, 281 days	West Bengal	Rajendra Prasad
–	Phani Bhusan Chakravartti	8 August 1956	3 November 1956	87 days	Bengal Presidency
4.	Padmaja Naidu	3 November 1956	1 June 1967	10 years, 210 days	Andhra Pradesh
5.	Dharma Vira	1 June 1967	1 April 1969	1 year, 304 days	Uttar Pradesh	Zakir Husain
–	Deep Narayan Sinha	1 April 1969	19 September 1969	171 days	Not Known	Zakir Husain
6.	Shanti Swaroop Dhavan	19 September 1969	21 August 1971	1 year, 336 days	Uttar Pradesh	V. V. Giri
7.	Anthony Lancelot Dias	21 August 1971	6 November 1979	8 years, 77 days	Maharashtra	V. V. Giri
8.	Tribhuvana Narayana Singh	6 November 1979	12 September 1981	1 year, 310 days	Uttar Pradesh	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
9.	Bhairab Dutt Pande	12 September 1981	10 October 1983	2 years, 28 days	Uttarakhand	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
10.	Anant Prasad Sharma	10 October 1983	16 August 1984	320 days	Bihar	Zail Singh
—	Satish Chandra	16 August 1984	1 October 1984	46 days	Uttar Pradesh
11.	Uma Shankar Dikshit	1 October 1984	12 August 1986	1 year, 315 days
12.	Saiyid Nurul Hasan	12 August 1986	20 March 1989	2 years, 220 days
13.	T. V. Rajeswar	20 March 1989	7 February 1990	324 days	Tamil Nadu	R. Venkataraman
(12).	Saiyid Nurul Hasan	7 February 1990	12 July 1993	3 years, 155 days	Uttar Pradesh	R. Venkataraman
–	B. Satyanarayan Reddy	13 July 1993	14 August 1993	32 days	Andhra Pradesh	Shankar Dayal Sharma
14.	K. V. Raghunatha Reddy	14 August 1993	27 April 1998	4 years, 256 days	Andhra Pradesh	Shankar Dayal Sharma
15.	Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai	27 April 1998	18 May 1999	1 year, 21 days	Uttar Pradesh	K. R. Narayan
16.	Shyamal Kumar Sen	18 May 1999	4 December 1999	200 days	West Bengal
17.	Viren J. Shah	4 December 1999	14 December 2004	5 years, 10 days	West Bengal
18.	Gopalkrishna Gandhi	14 December 2004	14 December 2009	5 years, 0 days	Delhi	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
–	Devanand Konwar	14 December 2009	23 January 2010	40 days	Assam	Pratibha Patil
19.	M. K. Narayanan	24 January 2010	30 June 2014	4 years, 157 days	Tamil Nadu	Pratibha Patil
—	D. Y. Patil	3 July 2014	17 July 2014	14 days	Maharashtra	Pranab Mukherjee
20.	Keshari Nath Tripathi	24 July 2014	29 July 2019	5 years, 5 days	Uttar Pradesh	Pranab Mukherjee
21.	Jagdeep Dhankhar	30 July 2019	17 July 2022	2 years, 352 days	Rajasthan	Ramnath Kovind
—	La. Ganesan	18 July 2022	17 November 2022	122 days	Tamil Nadu	Ramnath Kovind
22.	C. V. Ananda Bose	18 November 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 213 days	Kerala	Droupadi Murmu