List of governors of Karnataka

Governor of Karnataka
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲರು
Karnāṭakada Rājyapālaru
Incumbent
Thawar Chand Gehlot
since 11 July 2021
Style
  • Hon’ble Governor (Within India (English)
  • His/Her Excellency (Outside India)
  • Rajyapaal Mahodaya
StatusHead of State
ResidenceRaj Bhavan, Bengaluru
AppointerPresident of India
Term lengthFive years
PrecursorGovernor of Mysore
Inaugural holderMohan Lal Sukhadia
Formation
Websitewww.rajbhavan.kar.nic.in

The governor of Karnataka, formerly governor of Mysore, is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is de jure head of the government of Karnataka; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the chief minister of Karnataka, which thus holds de facto executive authority in the state. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to act upon his or her own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the president's assent. Over the years, the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the central government–appointed governor.[1]

Since 1956, eighteen people have served as the governor of Mysore (as the state was known before 1 November 1973) and Karnataka. The first was Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, who was the state's rajpramukh from 1950 to 1956. A majority of Karnataka's governors have been politicians (ten), another five have been civil servants. V. V. Giri went on become the fourth president of India, and Gopal Swarup Pathak the country's fourth vice president. Smt V. S. Ramadevi was the first and only woman governor of Karnataka (1999–2002) and also holds the record of first woman chief election commissioner in india.

Maharaja of Mysore[edit]

No Portrait Name Term of office Duration Selected former office(s)
1 Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar 15 August 1947 25 January 1950 2 years, 163 days Yuvaraja of Mysore

Rajpramukh of Mysore[edit]

No Portrait Name Term of office Duration Selected former office(s)
1 Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar 26 January 1950 31 October 1956 6 years, 279 days Maharaja of Mysore

Governors of Mysore[edit]

No Portrait Name Term of office Home State Duration Selected former office(s)
1 Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar 1 November 1956 4 May 1964 Karnataka 7 years, 185 days Maharaja of Mysore, Rajpramukh of Mysore
2 S. M. Shrinagesh 4 May 1964 2 April 1965 Maharashtra 333 days Chief of the Army Staff
3 V. V. Giri 2 April 1965 13 May 1967 Odisha 2 years, 41 days Fourth President of India
4 Gopal Swarup Pathak 13 May 1967 30 August 1969 Uttar Pradesh 2 years, 109 days Fourth Vice-President of India
-  – Justice Somanath Iyer (Acting) 30 August 1969 23 October 1969 - 54 days Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court
5 Dharma Vira 23 October 1970 1 February 1972 Uttar Pradesh 1 year, 101 days Governor of Punjab, Haryana, and West Bengal
6 Mohanlal Sukhadia 1 February 1972 31 October 1973 Rajasthan 4 years, 273 days Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Governor of United Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Governors of Karnataka[edit]

No Portrait Name Term of office Home State Duration Selected former office(s)
1 Mohanlal Sukhadia 1 November 1973 10 January 1976 Rajasthan 3 years, 343 days Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Governor of United Andhra Pradesh,Tamil Nadu and Mysore state
2  – Uma Shankar Dikshit 10 January 1976 2 August 1977 Uttar Pradesh 1 year, 204 days Governor of West Bengal and the Minister of Home Affairs
3 Govind Narain 2 August 1977 15 April 1982 Uttar Pradesh 4 years, 256 days First and the only member of the Imperial Civil Service to have been appointed and served as Governor of Karnataka
4  – Ashoknath Banerji 16 April 1982 25 February 1987 West Bengal 4 years, 315 days First member of the Indian Administrative Service to have served in this office
5  – Pendekanti Venkatasubbaiah 26 February 1987 5 February 1990 Andhra Pradesh 2 years, 344 days Governor of Bihar, Minister of Home and Parliamentary Affairs
-  – S. Mohan (Acting) 5 February 1990 8 May 1990 Tamil Nadu 92 days Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, Judge of the Supreme Court of India
6  – Bhanu Pratap Singh 8 May 1990 6 January 1992 Uttar Pradesh 1 year, 243 days Governor of Goa
7 Khurshed Alam Khan 6 January 1992 2 December 1999 Uttar Pradesh 7 years, 330 days Member of Parliament, Governor of Goa
8 V. S. Ramadevi 2 December 1999 20 August 2002 Andhra Pradesh 2 years, 261 days Chief Election Commissioner of India, Secretary General of Rajya Sabha, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, the first and only female governor of Karnataka
9 T. N. Chaturvedi 21 August 2002 20 August 2007 Uttar Pradesh 4 years, 364 days Comptroller and Auditor General of India
10 Rameshwar Thakur 21 August 2007 24 June 2009 Jharkhand 1 year, 307 days Governor of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, & Rajasthan (Additional charge)
11 Hansraj Bhardwaj 24 June 2009 29 June 2014 Punjab 5 years, 5 days Union Minister of Law and Justice, Governor of Kerala
- (additional charge) Konijeti Rosaiah 29 June 2014 31 August 2014 Andhra Pradesh 63 days Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Governor of Tamil Nadu
12 Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala 1 September 2014 10 July 2021 Gujarat 6 years, 312 days Speaker of Gujarat Vidhan Sabha
13 Thawar Chand Gehlot 11 July 2021[2] Incumbent Madhya Pradesh 2 years, 260 days Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha

Chief ministers of Karnataka under governors[edit]

List of Diwans of Mysore
Chief Ministers of Mysore State
(1947–1956)
Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar
(1947–1956)
K. Chengalaraya Reddy Oct 1947 - Mar 1952
K. Hanumanthaiah Mar 1952 - Aug 1956
Kadidal Manjappa Aug 1956 - Oct 1956
Chief Ministers of Reorganised Mysore State
(1956–1972)
Rajpramukh Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar
(1956-1963)
S. Nijalingappa Nov 1956 - May 1958
B. D. Jatti May 1958 - Mar 1962
S. R. Kanthi Mar 1962 - Jun 1962
S. Nijalingappa Jun 1962 - May 1964
S M Srinagesh
(1964-1965)
May 1964 - 1965
V. V. Giri
(1965-1967)
1965 - 1967
Gopal Swarup Pathak
(1967-1969)
1967 - May 1968
Veerendra Patil May 1968 - 1969
Dharma Vira
(1969-1972)
1969 - Mar 1971
Chief Ministers of Karnataka
(1972-present)
Mohanlal Sukhadia
(1972-1975)
D. Devaraj Urs Mar 1972 - 1975
Uma Shankar Dikshit
(1975-1977)
1972 - Dec 1977
Govind Narain
(1977-1982)
Feb 1977 - Jan 1980
R. Gundu Rao Jan 1980 - 1982
Ashoknath Banerji
(1982-1987)
1982 - Jan 1983
Ramakrishna Hegde Jan 1983 - 1987
Pendekanti Venkatasubbaiah
(1987-1990)
1987 - Aug 1988
S. R. Bommai Aug 1988 - Apr 1989
Veerendra Patil Nov 1989 - Oct 1990
Bhanu Pratap Singh
(1990-1992)
S. Bangarappa Oct 1990- Nov 1992
Khurshed Alam Khan
(1992-1999)
M. Veerappa Moily Nov 1992 - Dec 1994
H. D. Deve Gowda Dec 1994 - May 1996
J. H. Patel May 1996 - Oct 1999
V. S. Ramadevi
(1999-2002)
S. M. Krishna Oct 1999 - 2002
T. N. Chaturvedi
(2002-2007)
2002 - May 2004
Dharam Singh May 2004 - Jan 2006
H. D. Kumaraswamy Feb 2006 - Oct 2007
Rameshwar Thakur
(2007-2009)
B. S. Yeddyurappa Nov 2007 - Nov 2007
May 2008 - 2009
Hans Raj Bhardwaj
(2009-2014)
2009 - Jul 2011
D. V. Sadananda Gowda Jul 2011 - Jul 2012
Jagadish Shettar Jul 2012 - May 2013
Siddaramaiah May 2013 - 2014
Konijeti Rosaiah
(2014)
2014
Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala
(2014-2021)
2014 - 2018
H. D. Kumaraswamy 2018 - 2019
B. S. Yeddyurappa 2019 - 2021
Thawar Chand Gehlot
(2021-present)
Basavaraj Bommai 2021 - 2023
Siddaramaiah 2023-present

References[edit]

  1. ^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th edition, 2011 reprint. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. p. 237, 241–44. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Karnataka as well.
  2. ^ "Gehlot to swear-in on July 11", Deccan Chronicle, 9 July 2021

External links[edit]