List of governors of Tamil Nadu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Tamil Nadu
Emblem of Tamil Nadu
Incumbent R. N. Ravi since 18 September 2021
Style	His Excellency
Reports to	President of India Government of India
Residence	Raj Bhavan, Chennai (primary) Raj Bhavan, Udhagamandalam (summer)
Appointer	President of India
Term length	At the pleasure of the president Renewable
Inaugural holder	Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji (Madras State) Ujjal Singh (Tamil Nadu)
Formation	7 September 1948; 76 years ago (1948-09-07) (as Madras State) 14 January 1969; 56 years ago (1969-01-14) (as Tamil Nadu)
Salary	₹350,000 (US$6,000) (per month)

The state of Tamil Nadu in India has had 26 Governors since 1946

The Governor of Tamil Nadu is an important leader in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Think of the Governor as the state's official head, much like the President of India is the head of the entire country.

Governors are chosen by the President of India. They are usually not from the state they are appointed to govern. While the Governor is the official head, the real power to make decisions and run the state belongs to the Chief Minister and their team of ministers.

The person currently serving as Governor is R. N. Ravi. He has been the Governor since September 18, 2021.

What Does a Governor Do?

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

Executive Powers: Running the State

• The Governor helps with the daily management of the state.
• They approve important appointments, like choosing officials for different government roles.
• They can also remove certain people from their positions if needed.

Legislative Powers: Making Laws

• The Governor plays a role in making laws for the state.
• They work with the state's lawmaking body, which is called the Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad.
• They can approve or send back laws passed by the state legislature.

Discretionary Powers: Special Decisions

• Sometimes, the Governor has the power to make decisions on their own.
• These are special situations where they can use their judgment without needing advice from the Chief Minister.

Governors of Madras State

Before it was called Tamil Nadu, the state was known as Madras State. Here are some of the people who served as Governor during that time:

#	Name	Portrait	Took office	Left office
1	Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji		7 September 1948	12 March 1952
2	Sri Prakasa		12 March 1952	10 December 1956
4	Bhishnuram Medhi		24 January 1958	4 May 1964
5	Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar		4 May 1964	24 November 1964
(5)	Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar		7 December 1965	28 June 1966
-	Sardar Ujjal Singh (acting)		28 June 1966	14 January 1969

Visual Timeline of Madras State Governors

Governors of Tamil Nadu

Madras State officially changed its name to Tamil Nadu on January 14, 1969. "Tamil Nadu" means "Tamil country" in the Tamil language. The Governors of Tamil Nadu have similar powers to the President of India, but they work at the state level. The Governor is the official head, but the Chief Minister and their team hold most of the power to run the state.

No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Home state	Term of office			Previous post	Appointed by
				Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1	Ujjal Singh (1895–1983)		Punjab	14 January 1969	25 May 1971	2 years, 131 days	Governor of Punjab	Zakir Hussain
2	K. K. Shah (1908–1986)		Gujarat	26 May 1971	15 June 1976	5 years, 20 days	–	Varahagiri Venkata Giri
3	Mohan Lal Sukhadia (1916–1982)		Rajasthan	16 June 1976	8 April 1977	296 days	Governor of Andhra Pradesh	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
-	P. Govindan Nair (Unknown–Unknown)(Acting)		Kerala	9 April 1977	26 April 1977	17 days	–	B. D. Jatti (Acting President)
4	Prabhudas B. Patwari (1909–1985)		Gujarat	27 April 1977	26 October 1980	3 years, 182 days	Indian Lawyer
-	M. M. Ismail (1921–2005) (Acting)		Tamil Nadu	27 October 1980	3 November 1980	37 days	Chief Justice of Madras High Court	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
5	Sadiq Ali (1910–2001)		Rajasthan	4 November 1980	2 September 1982	1 year, 302 days	Governor of Maharashtra
6	S. L. Khurana (1918–2007)		National Capital Territory of Delhi	3 September 1982	16 February 1988	5 years, 166 days	Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry	Giani Zail Singh
7	P. C. Alexander (1921–2011)		Kerala	17 February 1988	23 May 1990	2 years, 95 days	I.A.S. Officer	R. Venkataraman
8	Surjit Singh Barnala (1925–2017)		Haryana	24 May 1990	14 February 1991	266 days	Chief Minister of Punjab
9	Bhishma Narain Singh (1933–2018)		Rajasthan	15 February 1991	30 May 1993	2 years, 104 days	Governor of Assam
10	M. Channa Reddy (1919–1996)		Andhra Pradesh	31 May 1993	2 December 1996	3 years, 185 days	Governor of Rajasthan	Shanker Dayal Sharma
–	Krishan Kant (1927–2002) (Acting)		Punjab	2 December 1996	24 January 1997	53 days	Governor of Andhra Pradesh
11	M. Fathima Beevi (1927–2023)		Kerala	25 January 1997	2 July 2001	4 years, 158 days	Judge of the Supreme Court of India
-	C. Rangarajan (1932-) (Acting)		Tamil Nadu	3 July 2001	17 January 2002	198 days	Governor of the Reserve Bank of India	K. R. Narayanan
12	P. S. Ramamohan Rao (1934-)		Andhra Pradesh	18 January 2002	2 November 2004	2 years, 289 days	Director General of Andhra Pradesh Police	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(8)	Surjit Singh Barnala (1925–2017)		Haryana	3 November 2004	30 August 2011	6 years, 300 days	Governor of Andhra Pradesh
13	Konijeti Rosaiah (1933–2021)		Andhra Pradesh	31 August 2011	1 September 2016	5 years, 1 day	Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh	Pratibha Devisingh Patil
–	C. Vidyasagar Rao (1942–)		Andhra Pradesh	2 September 2016	5 October 2017	1 year, 33 days	Governor of Maharashtra	Pranab Mukherjee
14	Banwarilal Purohit (1939–)		Rajasthan	6 October 2017	17 September 2021	3 years, 346 days	Governor of Assam	Ram Nath Kovind
15	R. N. Ravi (1952–)		Bihar	18 September 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 311 days	Governor of Nagaland

Graphical Timeline of Tamil Nadu Governors

Interesting Facts About Governors

• Surjit Singh Barnala is the only Governor who served two separate terms in office.
• He also holds the record for the longest time as Governor, serving for almost six and a half years (from November 3, 2004, to August 31, 2011).
• The shortest time served by an acting Governor was by M. M. Ismail, who was in office for only nine days.
• C. Vidyasagar Rao served the longest as an additional in-charge Governor, for 1 year, 1 month, and 4 days.

Interesting Facts About Governors

• Surjit Singh Barnala is the only Governor who served two separate times in office. His terms were from May 24, 1990, to February 15, 1991, and again from November 3, 2004, to August 31, 2011.
• The longest time a Governor served was also by Surjit Singh Barnala, for almost six and a half years during his second term.
• The shortest time an acting Governor served was M. M. Ismail, for just nine days, from October 27, 1980, to November 4, 1980.
• The longest time someone served as an additional (temporary) in-charge Governor was C. Vidyasagar Rao, for 1 year, 1 month, and 4 days.

See Also

• Governors of India
• History of Tamil Nadu
• List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
• List of colonial governors and presidents of Madras Presidency