List of governors of Bihar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Bihar
Emblem of Bihar
Incumbent Arif Mohammad Khan since 2 January 2025
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Raj Bhavan, Patna, Bihar
Appointer	President of India
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Formation	1 April 1936; 89 years ago (1936-04-01)

Location of Bihar in India.

The Governor of Bihar is like the state's main representative. They are the official head of the Indian state of Bihar. Think of them as a very important leader for the state.

The president of India chooses who becomes the Governor. The current Governor of Bihar is Arif Mohammad Khan. Did you know that two former Governors of Bihar, Zakir Husain and Ram Nath Kovind, later became the president of India? That shows how important this role can be!

What Does the Governor Do?

The Governor has several key jobs and powers. These powers help them manage the state and make sure things run smoothly.

• Executive powers are about running the government. This includes making important decisions, appointing officials, and removing them if needed.
• Legislative powers are about making laws. The Governor works with the state's law-making bodies, like the Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad.
• Discretionary powers mean the Governor can make certain decisions on their own. They use their best judgment for these special situations.

The Governor of Bihar also has another important role. They are the head, or chancellor, of all the universities in Bihar. This means they help guide and oversee the state's higher education system. Currently, there are 12 universities under the Governor's care.

Sir Hugh Dow was the last governor of Bihar when India was under British rule.

President Pranab Mukherjee being welcomed by Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Who Has Been Governor of Bihar?

Many important people have served as the Governor of Bihar over the years. This role existed even before India became independent.

#	Name	Portrait	Started Office	Left Office	How Long They Served	Home State	Appointed by
Before India's Independence
1.	Sir James David Sifton		1 April 1936	10 March 1937	343 days	United Kingdom	Freeman Thomas
2.	Sir Maurice Garnier Hallett		11 March 1937	15 May 1938	1 year, 65 days		Victor Hope
–	Sir Thomas Alexander Stewart		15 May 1938	16 September 1938	124 days
(2).	Sir Maurice Garnier Hallett		17 September 1938	5 August 1939	322 days
3.	Sir Thomas Alexander Stewart		6 August 1939	2 February 1943	3 years, 180 days
4.	Sir Thomas George Rutherford		3 February 1943	6 September 1943	215 days
–	Sir Francis Mudie		7 September 1943	23 April 1944	229 days
(4).	Sir Thomas George Rutherford		24 April 1944	12 May 1946	2 years, 18 days		Viscount Wavell
5.	Sir Hugh Dow		13 May 1946	14 August 1947	1 year, 93 days
After India's Independence
1.	Jairamdas Daulatram		15 August 1947	11 January 1948	149 days	British India	Lord Mountbatten
2.	Madhav Shrihari Aney		12 January 1948	14 June 1952	4 years, 154 days	Maharashtra
3.	R. R. Diwakar		15 June 1952	5 July 1957	5 years, 20 days	Karnataka	Rajendra Prasad
4.	Zakir Husain		6 July 1957	11 May 1962	4 years, 309 days	Andhra Pradesh
5.	M. A. Ayyangar		12 May 1962	6 December 1967	5 years, 208 days
6.	Nityanand Kanungo		7 December 1967	20 January 1971	3 years, 44 days	Odisha	Zakir Husain
–	Justice U.N. Sinha		21 January 1971	31 January 1971	10 days	Not Known	V. V. Giri
7.	Dev Kant Baruah		1 February 1971	4 February 1973	2 years, 3 days	Assam
8.	Ramchandra Dhondiba Bhandare		4 February 1973	15 June 1976	3 years, 132 days	Maharashtra
9.	Jagannath Kaushal		16 June 1976	31 January 1979	2 years, 232 days	Punjab	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
–	Justice K.B.N. Singh		31 January 1979	19 September 1979	231 days	Not Known	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
10.	Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai		20 September 1979	15 March 1985	5 years, 176 days	Uttar Pradesh
11.	P. Venkatasubbaiah		15 March 1985	25 February 1988	2 years, 347 days	Andhra Pradesh	Zail Singh
12.	Govind Narain Singh		26 February 1988	24 January 1989	334 days	Madhya Pradesh	R. Venkataraman
–	Justice Dipak Kumar Sen		24 January 1989	28 January 1989	4 days	Not Known
13.	R.D. Pradhan		29 January 1989	2 February 1989	4 days	Maharashtra
14.	Jagannath Pahadia		3 March 1989	2 February 1990	336 days	Rajasthan
–	Justice G.G. Sohoni		2 February 1990	16 February 1990	14 days	Not Known
15.	Mohammad Saleem		16 February 1990	13 February 1991	362 days	Uttar Pradesh
–	B. Satya Narayan Reddy		14 February 1991	18 March 1991	32 days	Andhra Pradesh
16.	Mohammad Shafi Qureshi		19 March 1991	13 August 1993	2 years, 147 days	Jammu and Kashmir
(10).	Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai		14 August 1993	26 April 1998	4 years, 255 days	Uttar Pradesh	Shankar Dayal Sharma
17.	Sunder Singh Bhandari		27 April 1998	15 March 1999	322 days	Rajasthan	K. R. Narayan
–	Justice B.M. Lall		15 March 1999	5 October 1999	204 days	Not Known
—	Suraj Bhan		6 October 1999	22 November 1999	47 days	Haryana
18.	V. C. Pande		23 November 1999	12 June 2003	3 years, 201 days	Jammu and Kashmir
19.	M. R. Jois		12 June 2003	31 October 2004	1 year, 141 days	Not Known	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
–	Ved Prakash Marwah		1 November 2004	4 November 2004	3 days
20.	Buta Singh		5 November 2004	29 January 2006	1 year, 85 days	Rajasthan
-	Gopalkrishna Gandhi m		31 January 2006	21 June 2006	141 days	Delhi
21.	R. S. Gavai		22 June 2006	9 July 2008	2 years, 17 days	Maharashtra
22.	R. L. Bhatia		10 July 2008	28 June 2009	353 days	Punjab	Pratibha Patil
23.	Devanand Konwar		29 June 2009	21 March 2013	3 years, 265 days	Assam
24.	D. Y. Patil		22 March 2013	26 November 2014	1 year, 188 days	Maharashtra	Pranab Mukherjee
—	Keshari Nath Tripathi		27 November 2014	15 August 2015	261 days	Uttar Pradesh
25.	Ram Nath Kovind		16 August 2015	20 June 2017	1 year, 308 days
—	Keshari Nath Tripathi		20 June 2017	29 September 2017	101 days
26.	Satya Pal Malik		30 September 2017	23 August 2018	327 days		Ramnath Kovind
27.	Lalji Tandon		23 August 2018	28 July 2019	339 days
28.	Phagu Chauhan		29 July 2019	13 February 2023	3 years, 199 days
29.	Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar		14 February 2023	1 January 2025	1 year, 322 days	Goa	Draupadi Murmu
30.	Arif Mohammad Khan		2 January 2025	Incumbent	168 days	Uttar Pradesh

See also

• Governor (India)
• Chief Minister of Bihar
• List of governors of Bihar and Orissa Province