List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu

The Madras Presidency, headquartered in Fort St. George, India, was a province of British India that comprised present day Tamil Nadu, the Malabar region of North Kerala, the coastal and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, and the Bellary, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi districts of Karnataka. It was established in 1653 to be the headquarters of the English settlements on the Coromandel Coast.

The territory under the presidency comprised only Madraspatnam and surrounding regions. But, after the Anglo-French wars and the consequent alliance between the English East India Company and the Nawab of Arcot, it was expanded to comprise the region from Northern Circars to Cape Comorin. The governance structure also evolved from a modest secretariat with a single secretary for the Public Department in 1670 to six departments overseen by a chief secretary by 1920.

The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the Madras Legislative Council as an advisory body, without powers, through which the colonial administration obtained advice and assistance from able and willing Indian business leaders. But membership was selected (not elected) and not representative of the masses.

With the enactment of Government of India Act 1919, the first legislature was formed in 1920 after general elections.[5] The term of the legislative council was three years. It had 132 members of whom 34 were nominated by the governor and the rest were elected. Under the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature was set up with a legislative assembly consisting of 215 members and a legislative council having 56 members. The first legislative assembly under this act was constituted in July 1937. The legislative council was a permanent body with a third of its members retiring every 3 years with power to decide on bills passed by the assembly[6]

In 1939, the British government declared India's entrance into World War II without consulting provincial governments. The Indian National Congress protested by asking all its elected representatives to resign from the governments.[7] Congress came back to power in 1946 after new provincial elections.[8]

The state of Tamil Nadu in India has an electorate of more than 70 million people (7 crores)[9]

Madras Presidency in 1909 showing in southern portion of India

Since 1920, Fort St. George is the
Chief Secretariat of Tamil Nadu

Chief Ministers of Madras Presidency
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected Constituency	Term of office[10]			Council (Election)	Ministry	Appointed by	Political Party[lower-alpha 1]
				Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		A. Subbarayalu Reddiar (1855–1921)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	17 December 1920	11 July 1921[RES]	206 days	1st (1920 election)	Reddiar	Frederic Thesiger	South Indian Liberal Federation
2		Panaganti Ramarayaningar (1866–1928)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	11 July 1921	11 September 1923	5 years, 145 days		Ramarayaningar I	Rufus Isaacs
				12 September 1923	3 December 1926		2nd (1923 election)	Ramarayaningar II
3		P. Subbarayan (1889–1962)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	4 December 1926	27 October 1930	3 years, 327 days	3rd (1926 election)	Subbarayan	Edward Wood	Independent
4		B. Munuswamy Naidu (1885–1935)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	27 October 1930	4 November 1932[RES]	2 years, 8 days	4th (1930 election)	Naidu		South Indian Liberal Federation
5		Ramakrishna Ranga Rao (1901–1978)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	5 November 1932	5 November 1934	3 years, 151 days		Rao I	Freeman Freeman-Thomas
				5 November 1934	4 April 1936[RES]		5th (1934 election)	Rao II
6		P. T. Rajan (1892–1974)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	4 April 1936	24 August 1936[RES]	142 days		Rajan
(5)		Ramakrishna Ranga Rao (1901–1978)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	24 August 1936[§]	1 April 1937	220 days		Rao III	Victor Hope
7		Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu (1875–1942)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	1 April 1937	14 July 1937[RES]	104 days	1st (1937 election)	Naidu		Independent
8		C. Rajagopalachari (1878–1972)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	14 July 1937	29 October 1939[RES]	2 years, 107 days		Rajagopalachari I		Indian National Congress
–		Vacant (Governor-General's rule)	N/A	29 October 1939	29 April 1946	6 years, 182 days	Dissolved	N/A	–	N/A
9		T. Prakasam (1872–1957)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	30 April 1946	23 March 1947[RES]	327 days	2nd (1946 election)	Prakasam	Archibald Wavell	Indian National Congress
10		Omanthur P. Ramaswamy Reddiar (1895–1970)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	23 March 1947	6 April 1949[RES]	2 years, 14 days		Reddiar	Archibald Nye
11		P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja (1898–1957)	Leader of the Presidency Legislative Council	6 April 1949	25 January 1950	294 days		Raja	Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji

Timeline

Development after independence

Madras State precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after India became a republic on 26 January 1950.[11] It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The first legislature of the Madras State to be elected on the basis of universal suffrage was constituted on 1 March 1952, after the general elections held in January 1952.[12]

The state was split up along linguistic lines in 1953, carving out Andhra State. Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the States of Kerala, and Mysore were carved out of Madras state. Under the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act, 1959, with effect from 1 April 1960, Tirutani taluk and Pallipattu sub-taluk of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh were transferred to Madras in exchange for territories from the Chingelput and Salem districts.[5][13]

Chief Ministers of Madras State
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected Constituency	Term of office[10]			Assembly (Election)	Ministry	Appointed by	Political Party[lower-alpha 1]
				Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja (1898–1957)	Leader of the State Legislative Council	26 January 1950	9 April 1952	2 years, 74 days	2nd (1946 election)	Raja	Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji	Indian National Congress
2		C. Rajagopalachari (1878–1972)	Leader of the State Legislative Council	10 April 1952	13 April 1954[RES]	2 years, 3 days	1st (1952 election)	Rajagopalachari II	Sri Prakasa
3		K. Kamaraj (1903–1975)	Gudiyatham	13 April 1954	12 April 1957	9 years, 172 days		Kamaraj I
			Sattur	13 April 1957	14 March 1962		2nd (1957 election)	Kamaraj II	A. J. John
				15 March 1962	2 October 1963[RES]		3rd (1962 election)	Kamaraj III	Bishnuram Medhi
4		M. Bhakthavatsalam (1897–1987)	Sriperumbudur	2 October 1963	5 March 1967	3 years, 154 days		Bhakthavatsalam
5		C. N. Annadurai (1909–1969)	Leader of the State Legislative Council	6 March 1967	13 January 1969	1 year, 313 days	4th (1967 election)	Annadurai	Sardar Ujjal Singh	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Change in nomenclature

During the term of fourth assembly on 18 July 1967, the house by a resolution unanimously adopted and recommended that steps be taken by the State Government to secure necessary amendment to the Constitution of India to change the name of Madras State as Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, the Madras State (Alteration of Name) Act, 1968 (Central Act 53 of 1968) was passed by the Parliament of India and came into force on 14 January 1969.[14] Consequently, the nomenclature Madras Legislative Assembly was changed into Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. From 1967 onward, the strength of the assembly continued to remain as 234 besides a nominated member.[6]

From 1952 to 1986, the state have a parliamentary system of government with two democratically elected houses, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. On 14 May 1986, the state government passed resolution to abolish the legislative council in the state then was moved and adopted by the house. On 1 November 1986, Tamil Nadu became an unicameral legislature and since then several times the state government has taken steps to reconstitute the legislative council, but they have failed for so long. Tamil Nadu Legislative Council has not been constituted till date in the state.

Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected Constituency	Term of office[10]			Assembly (Election)	Ministry	Appointed by	Political Party[lower-alpha 1]
				Assumed Office	Left Office	Time in Office
1		C. N. Annadurai (1909–1969)	Leader of the State Legislative Council	14 January 1969	3 February 1969[†]	20 days	4th (1967 election)	Annadurai	Sardar Ujjal Singh	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Acting		V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000)	Triplicane	3 February 1969	10 February 1969[RES]	7 days		Nedunchezhiyan I
2		M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018)	Saidapet	10 February 1969	14 March 1971	6 years, 355 days		Karunanidhi I
				15 March 1971	31 January 1976		5th (1971 election)	Karunanidhi II
–		Vacant (President's rule)	N/A	31 January 1976	29 June 1977	1 year, 149 days	Dissolved	N/A	–	N/A
3		M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)	Aruppukottai	30 June 1977	17 February 1980	2 years, 232 days	6th (1977 election)	Ramachandran I	Prabhudas Patwari	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
–		Vacant (President's rule)	N/A	17 February 1980	8 June 1980	112 days	Dissolved	N/A	–	N/A
(3)		M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987)	Madurai West	9 June 1980[§]	9 February 1985	7 years, 198 days	7th (1980 election)	Ramachandran II	Prabhudas Patwari	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
			Andipatti	10 February 1985	24 December 1987[†]		8th (1984 election)	Ramachandran III	Sundar Lal Khurana
Acting		V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2000)	Athoor	24 December 1987	7 January 1988[RES]	14 days		Nedunchezhiyan II
4		V. N. Janaki Ramachandran (1924–1996)	Did not contest	7 January 1988	30 January 1988	23 days		Janaki
–		Vacant (President's rule)	N/A	30 January 1988	26 January 1989	362 days	Dissolved	N/A	–	N/A
(2)		M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018)	Harbour	27 January 1989[§]	30 January 1991	2 years, 3 days	9th (1989 election)	Karunanidhi III	P. C. Alexander	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
–		Vacant (President's rule)	N/A	30 January 1991	23 June 1991	144 days	Dissolved	N/A	–	N/A
5		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	Bargur	24 June 1991	12 May 1996	4 years, 323 days	10th (1991 election)	Jayalalithaa I	Bhishma Narain Singh	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(2)		M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018)	Chepauk	13 May 1996[§]	13 May 2001	5 years	11th (1996 election)	Karunanidhi IV	Marri Chenna Reddy	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(5)		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	Did not contest	14 May 2001[§]	21 September 2001[RES]	130 days	12th (2001 election)	Jayalalithaa II	Fathima Beevi	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
6		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	Periyakulam	21 September 2001	2 March 2002[RES]	162 days		Panneerselvam I	C. Rangarajan
(5)		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	Andipatti	2 March 2002[§]	12 May 2006	4 years, 71 days		Jayalalithaa III	P. S. Ramamohan Rao
(2)		M. Karunanidhi (1924–2018)	Chepauk	13 May 2006[§]	15 May 2011	5 years, 2 days	13th (2006 election)	Karunanidhi V	Surjit Singh Barnala	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(5)		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	Srirangam	16 May 2011[§]	27 September 2014	3 years, 134 days	14th (2011 election)	Jayalalithaa IV		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(6)		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	Bodinayakanur	28 September 2014[§]	23 May 2015[RES]	237 days		Panneerselvam II	Konijeti Rosaiah
(5)		J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016)	Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar	23 May 2015[§]	22 May 2016	1 year, 196 days		Jayalalithaa V
				23 May 2016	5 December 2016[†]		15th (2016 election)	Jayalalithaa VI
(6)		O. Panneerselvam (1951–)	Bodinayakanur	5 December 2016[§]	15 February 2017[RES]	72 days		Panneerselvam III	C. Vidyasagar Rao
7		Edappadi K. Palaniswami (1954–)	Edappadi	16 February 2017	6 May 2021	4 years, 79 days		Palaniswami
8		M. K. Stalin (1953–)	Kolathur	7 May 2021	Incumbent	1 year, 170 days	16th (2021 election)	Stalin	Banwarilal Purohit	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

List of chief ministers by length of term

Timeline

List by party

Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Chief Minister's Office

As of 24 October 2022, there were two living former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, in order of service, are:

• 
  O. Panneerselvam
  (2001–02, 2014–15, 2016-17)
  (1951-01-14) 14 January 1951
• 
  Edappadi K. Palaniswami
  (2017–2021)
  (1954-05-12) 12 May 1954

The most recent death of a former chief minister was that of M. Karunanidhi on 7 August 2018, aged 94.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chief ministers of Tamil Nadu.

• History of Tamil Nadu
• Elections in Tamil Nadu
• List of governors of Tamil Nadu
• Chief Secretariat of Tamil Nadu
• Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
• List of current Indian chief ministers
• List of deputy chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
• List of chief ministers of Madras Presidency
• List of speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
• List of leaders of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly

• Official Website of the Office of the Chief Minister