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Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
Emblem of the Government of Puducherry.png
Emblem of Puducherry
K Kailashnathan.jpg
Incumbent
Kuniyil Kailashnathan

since 7 August 2024
Style His Excellency (formal)
The Honourable (informal)
Reports to President of India
Government of India
Residence Raj Niwas, Puducherry
Appointer President of India on the advice of the Government of India
Term length 5 Years
Inaugural holder S. L. Silam
Formation 14 October 1963
(61 years ago)
 (1963-10-14)

Puducherry, once known as "Pondicherry," is a special part of India. It is called a Union Territory. This means the central government of India directly manages its rules and daily life.

Who Leads Puducherry?

The main leader of Puducherry is the Lieutenant Governor. This person acts like the President of India's representative. Their job is to make sure everything runs smoothly in the Union Territory.

The Lieutenant Governor lives in a special building called the Raj Niwas. This building used to be the palace of the French Governor General. The central government of India also helps a lot with money for Puducherry.

From French Rule to Indian Governance

For a long time, Puducherry was a French settlement. On November 1, 1954, the French areas in India officially became part of India. At this time, a new leader was appointed. This leader was called the Chief Commissioner.

The Chief Commissioner took over from the last French leader. They had similar powers but reported directly to the Indian government. This was an important step in Puducherry becoming fully Indian.

Chief Commissioners (1954 – 1963)

Here is a list of the Chief Commissioners who led Puducherry during this time:

No. Name Portrait Took office Left office Legal
Control
Actual
Control
1 Singh, KewalKewal Singh No image available.svg 21 October 1954 16 November 1956 France France
(Until Nov 1 1954)
India
(Since Nov 1 1954)
2 Kripalani, M.K.M.K. Kripalani No image available.svg 17 November 1956 27 August 1958 India
3 Singh, Lal Ram SaranLal Ram Saran Singh No image available.svg 30 August 1958 8 February 1961
4 Dutta, Sisir KumarSisir Kumar Dutta No image available.svg 2 May 1961 1 August 1963 France
(Until Aug 16 1962)
India
(Since Aug 16 1962)
5 Somasundaram, K.J.K.J. Somasundaram No image available.svg 2 August 1963 13 October 1963 India

The Role of Lieutenant Governor Begins

In 1962, Puducherry officially became a full part of the Indian Union. On July 1, 1963, Puducherry became a Union Territory. At this point, the role of the Chief Commissioner changed to the Lieutenant Governor.

Only a few Lieutenant Governors have served for more than four years. These include S.L. Silam, B.D.Jatti, B.T. Kulkarni, Rajani Rai, and Kiran Bedi. S.L. Silam was the only one to complete a full five-year term. Kiran Bedi is the second longest-serving Lieutenant Governor so far.

Lieutenant Governors of Puducherry

Here is a list of the Lieutenant Governors who have served Puducherry:

No. Name Portrait Took office Left office Duration
1 Silam, S.L.S.L. Silam No image available.svg 14 Oct 1963 13 Oct 1968 4 years, 365 days
2 Jatti, B.D.B.D. Jatti B.D Jatti (cropped).png 14 Oct 1968 7 Nov 1972 4 years, 24 days
3 , ChhedilalChhedilal Chhedilal.jpg 8 Nov 1972 29 Aug 1976 3 years, 295 days
4 Kulkarni, B.T.B.T. Kulkarni No image available.svg 30 Aug 1976 31 Oct 1980 4 years, 62 days
5 Vyas, Ram KishoreRam Kishore Vyas No image available.svg 1 Nov 1980 15 Apr 1981 165 days
- Ali, Sri SadiqSri Sadiq Ali No image available.svg 16 Apr 1981 26 Jul 1981 101 days
6 Haldipur, R.N.R.N. Haldipur No image available.svg 27 Jul 1981 14 May 1982 291 days
7 Chandy, K.M.K.M. Chandy Prof.K.M.Chandy.jpg 15 May 1982 5 Aug 1983 1 year, 82 days
8 Rao, Kona PrabhakaraKona Prabhakara Rao No image available.svg 2 Sep 1983 17 Jun 1984 289 days
- Khurana, S.L.S.L. Khurana No image available.svg 18 Jun 1984 30 Sep 1984 104 days
9 Tewary, Tribhuvan PrasadTribhuvan Prasad Tewary No image available.svg 1 Oct 1984 21 Jun 1988 3 years, 264 days
10 Dyal, Ranjit SinghRanjit Singh Dyal No image available.svg 22 Jun 1988 19 Feb 1990 1 year, 242 days
11 , ChandrawatiChandrawati No image available.svg 19 Feb 1990 18 Dec 1990 302 days
12 Singh, Har SwarupHar Swarup Singh No image available.svg 19 Dec 1990 05 Feb 1993 2 years, 48 days
- Singh, Bishma NarainBishma Narain Singh BhishmaNarainSingh19.jpg 06 Feb 1993 31 May 1993 2 years, 84 days
- Channa Reddy, MarriMarri Channa Reddy DrMChannaReddy (cropped).jpg 31 May 1993 1 May 1995 1 year, 335 days
13 Bajpai, Rajendra KumariRajendra Kumari Bajpai Rajendra Kumari Bajpai Lok Sabha photo.jpg 2 May 1995 22 Apr 1998 2 years, 355 days
14 Rai, RajaniRajani Rai No image available.svg 23 Apr 1998 29 Jul 2002 4 years, 97 days
15 Malkani, K. R.K. R. Malkani No image available.svg 31 Jul 2002 27 Oct 2003 1 year, 88 days
- Rama Mohan Rao, P.S.P.S. Rama Mohan Rao No image available.svg 27 Oct 2003 5 Jan 2004 70 days
16 Jha, Nagendra NathNagendra Nath Jha No image available.svg 5 Jan 2004 6 Jul 2004 183 days
17 Lakhera, M. M.M. M. Lakhera Lieutenant General M.M. Lakhera (cropped).jpg 7 Jul 2004 18 Jul 2006 2 years, 11 days
18 Mithi, MukutMukut Mithi Mukut Mithi.jpg 19 Jul 2006 12 Mar 2008 1 year, 237 days
19 Singh, BhopinderBhopinder Singh No image available.svg 15 Mar 2008 22 Jul 2008 129 days
20 Gurjar, Govind SinghGovind Singh Gurjar Govind Singh Gurjar.JPG 23 Jul 2008 6 Apr 2009 257 days
- Barnala, Surjit SinghSurjit Singh Barnala H E Shri Surjit Singh Barnala.jpg 9 Apr 2009 27 Jul 2009 109 days
21 Singh, IqbalIqbal Singh Iqbal Singh (politician).jpg 27 Jul 2009 9 Jul 2013 3 years, 347 days
22 Kataria, VirendraVirendra Kataria Virendra Kataria Ji at Agra.jpg 10 Jul 2013 11 Jul 2014 1 year, 1 day
23 Singh, A. K.A. K. Singh The Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Lt. Gen. A.K. Singh in New Delhi on June 15, 2015 (cropped).jpg 12 Jul 2014 26 May 2016 1 year, 319 days
24 Bedi, KiranKiran Bedi Dr. Kiran Bedi in 2017 (cropped).jpg 28 May 2016 16 Feb 2021 4 years, 264 days
- Soundararajan, TamilisaiTamilisai Soundararajan
(additional charge)
Tamilisai Soundarajan with President Kovind (cropped).jpg 18 Feb 2021 18 March 2024 3 years, 30 days
- C.P. Radhakrishnan
(additional charge)
Governor of Jharkhand Radhakrishnan.jpg 20 March 2024 6 August 2024 134 days
25 Kuniyil Kailashnathan K Kailashnathan.jpg 7 August 2024 Incumbent 324 days
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