Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Template:Short description Template:Use Indian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox official post The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.<ref>Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. Template:ISBN. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Tamil Nadu as well.</ref>
Since 1952, Tamil Nadu has had 12 chief ministers, 13 including V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, who twice acted in the role. The longest-serving chief minister, M. Karunanidhi from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, held the office for over eighteen years in multiple tenures, while he was the one who had the largest gap between two terms (nearly thirteen years).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's former general secretary J. Jayalalithaa has the second-longest tenure,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and its founder M. G. Ramachandran, the first actor to become the chief minister in India, has the third-longest tenure, while his wife V. N. Janaki Ramachandran has the shortest tenure (only 23 days).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There have been four instances of president's rule in Tamil Nadu, most recently in 1991.
The current incumbent is M. K. Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam since 7 May 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
List
The Madras Presidency, headquartered in Fort St. George, India, was a presidency of 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 Madrasapattinam and its 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 the 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 was not representative of the masses.
With the enactment of the Government of India Act 1919, the first legislature was formed in 1920 after general elections.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 and having the power to decide on bills passed by the assembly.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1939, the Governor-General of India declared India's entry into World War II without consulting the Imperial Legislative Council. The Indian National Congress protested by asking all its elected representatives to resign from governments.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Then it came back to power in 1946 after new provincial elections.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Multiple image Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
- Color key for political parties
- Key
- Template:Note label Resigned
- Template:Note label Died in office
- Template:Note label Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term
- Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:1050 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:200 left:20 AlignBars = late
Colors =
id:silf value:rgb(1,0.6,0.5) legend: SILF id:noparty value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) legend: IND id:inc value:rgb(0.09804,0.66667,0.92941) legend:INC id:vacant value:black legend: Vacant id:gray1 value:gray(0.8) id:gray2 value:gray(0.9)
Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:17/12/1920 till:21/12/1950 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1921 ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1921
Legend = columns:4 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:150
TextData =
pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text: Political Party
BarData =
bar:Subbarayalu bar:Ramarayaningar bar:Subbarayan bar:Munuswamy bar:Rao bar:Rajan bar:Naidu bar:Rajagopalachari bar:Vacant bar:Prakasam bar:Reddiar bar:Raja
PlotData=
width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Subbarayalu from:17/12/1920 till:11/07/1921 color:silf text:"A. Subbarayalu Reddiar" fontsize:10 bar:Ramarayaningar from:11/07/1921 till:03/12/1926 color:silf text:"Panaganti Ramarayaningar" fontsize:10 bar:Subbarayan from:04/12/1926 till:27/10/1930 color:noparty text:"P. Subbarayan" fontsize:10 bar:Munuswamy from:27/10/1930 till:04/11/1932 color:silf text:"B. Munuswamy Naidu" fontsize:10 bar:Rao from:05/11/1932 till:04/04/1936 color:silf from:24/08/1936 till:01/04/1937 color:silf text:"Ramakrishna Ranga Rao" fontsize:10 bar:Rajan from:04/04/1936 till:24/08/1936 color:silf text:"P. T. Rajan" fontsize:10 bar:Naidu from:01/04/1937 till:14/07/1937 color:noparty text:"Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu" fontsize:10 bar:Rajagopalachari from:14/07/1937 till:29/10/1939 color:inc text:"C. Rajagopalachari" fontsize:10 bar:Vacant from:29/10/1939 till:30/04/1946 color:vacant text:"Vacant (Governor-General's rule)" fontsize:10 bar:Prakasam from:30/04/1946 till:23/03/1947 color:inc text:"T. Prakasam" fontsize:10 bar:Reddiar from:23/03/1947 till:06/04/1949 color:inc text:"Omanthur P. Ramaswamy Reddiar" fontsize:10 bar:Raja from:06/04/1949 till:25/01/1950 color:inc text:"P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja" fontsize:10
</timeline>
- Development after independence
Madras State, the precursor to the present-day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after India became a republic on 26 January 1950.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.
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 State were carved out of Madras State.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Under the Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act, 1959, with effect from 1 April 1960, Tiruttani 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
- Color key for political parties
- Key
- Template:Note label Resigned
- Template:Note label Died in office
- Change in nomenclature
During the term of the fourth assembly on 18 July 1967, the house unanimously adopted and recommended that steps be taken by the state government to secure the necessary amendment to the Constitution of India to change the name of Madras State to 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Consequently, the nomenclature "Madras Legislative Assembly" was changed to "Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly". From 1967 onwards, the strength of the assembly continued to remain at 234 plus a nominated member.
From 1952 to 1986, the state had 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 a resolution to abolish the legislative council in the state, which was then moved and adopted by the house. On 1 November 1986, Tamil Nadu became a state with a 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. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council has not been constituted in the state to date. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
- Legend
- Color key for political parties
- Key
- Template:Note label Resigned
- Template:Note label Died in office
- Template:Note label Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term
- Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:1050 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:200 left:20 AlignBars = late
Colors =
id:inc value:rgb(0.09804,0.66667,0.92941) legend:INC id:dmk value:rgb(1,0.05098,0.05098) legend:DMK id:vacant value:black legend:Vacant id:aiadmk value:rgb(0,0.6,0.2) legend:AIADMK id:gray1 value:gray(0.8) id:gray2 value:gray(0.9)
Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:26/01/1950 till:$today TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1951 ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1951
Legend = columns:4 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:150
TextData =
pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text: Political Party
BarData =
bar:Raja bar:Rajagopalachari bar:Kamaraj bar:Bhakthavatsalam bar:Annadurai bar:Nedunchezhiyan bar:Karunanidhi bar:Vacant bar:Ramachandran bar:Janaki bar:Jayalalithaa bar:Panneerselvam bar:Palaniswami bar:Stalin
PlotData =
width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Raja from:26/01/1950 till:09/04/1952 color:inc text:"P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja" fontsize:10 bar:Rajagopalachari from:10/04/1952 till:13/04/1954 color:inc text:"C. Rajagopalachari" fontsize:10 bar:Kamaraj from:13/04/1954 till:02/10/1963 color:inc text:"K. Kamaraj" fontsize:10 bar:Bhakthavatsalam from:02/10/1963 till:05/03/1967 color:inc text:"M. Bhakthavatsalam" fontsize:10 bar:Annadurai from:06/03/1967 till:03/02/1969 color:dmk text:"C. N. Annadurai" fontsize:10 bar:Nedunchezhiyan from:03/02/1969 till:10/02/1969 color:dmk from:24/12/1987 till:07/01/1988 color:aiadmk text:"V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (Acting) " fontsize:10 bar:Karunanidhi from:10/02/1969 till:31/01/1976 color:dmk from:27/01/1989 till:30/01/1991 color:dmk from:13/05/1996 till:13/05/2001 color:dmk from:13/05/2006 till:15/05/2011 color:dmk text:"M. Karunanidhi" fontsize:10 bar:Vacant from:31/01/1976 till:29/06/1977 color:vacant from:17/02/1980 till:08/06/1980 color:vacant from:30/01/1988 till:26/01/1989 color:vacant from:30/01/1991 till:23/06/1991 color:vacant text:"Vacant (President's rule)" fontsize:10 bar:Ramachandran from:30/06/1977 till:17/02/1980 color:aiadmk from:09/06/1980 till:24/12/1987 color:aiadmk text:"M. G. Ramachandran" fontsize:10 bar:Janaki from:07/01/1988 till:30/01/1988 color:aiadmk text:"V. N. Janaki Ramachandran" fontsize:10 bar:Jayalalithaa from:24/06/1991 till:12/05/1996 color:aiadmk from:14/05/2001 till:21/09/2001 color:aiadmk from:02/03/2002 till:12/05/2006 color:aiadmk from:16/05/2011 till:27/09/2014 color:aiadmk from:23/05/2015 till:05/12/2016 color:aiadmk text:"J. Jayalalithaa" fontsize:10 bar:Panneerselvam from:21/09/2001 till:02/03/2002 color:aiadmk from:28/09/2014 till:23/05/2015 color:aiadmk from:06/12/2016 till:15/02/2017 color:aiadmk text:"O. Panneerselvam" fontsize:10 bar:Palaniswami from:16/02/2017 till:06/05/2021 color:aiadmk text:"Edappadi K. Palaniswami" fontsize:10 bar:Stalin from:07/05/2021 till:end color:dmk text:"M. K. Stalin" fontsize:10
</timeline>
Statistics
- List of chief ministers by length of term
- List by party
| No. | Political party | Number of chief ministers | Total days of holding CMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 5 (+1 acting) | {{#expr:Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days}} days |
| 2 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 3 (+1 acting) | {{#expr:Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days}} days |
| 3 | Indian National Congress | 4 | 6247 days |
- Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Chief Minister's Office
{{#invoke:Chart|bar chart |float = center |width = 800 |height = 300 |stack = 1 |group 1 = {{#expr:Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days}}:0:0 |group 2 = 0:{{#expr:Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days+Template:Age in days}}:0 |group 3 = 0:0:6247 |colors = #009933:#FF0D0D:#19AAED |group names = AIADMK:DMK:INC |x legends = AIADMK:DMK:INC }}
<timeline> Define $width = 1000 Define $warning = 845 # $width – 155 Define $height = 450 # 13x20 + 160
Define $start = 1878 Define $end = 2030 Define $now = 2026
ImageSize = width:$width height:$height PlotArea = right:10 left:19 bottom:80 top:60 Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal Legend = columns:4 left:50 top:23 columnwidth:150
Colors =
id:bg value:white id:lightline value:rgb(0.9, 0.9, 0.9) id:lighttext value:rgb(0.5, 0.5, 0.5) id:LIFESPAN value:rgb(0.88, 0.90, 0.70) Legend: LIFESPAN id:CM_INC value:rgb(0.09804,0.66667,0.92941) Legend:INC id:CM_DMK value:rgb(1,0.05098,0.05098) Legend: DMK id:CM_AIADMK value:rgb(0,0.6,0.2) Legend: AIADMK id:NAME value:rgb(0.15, 0.13, 0.05) id:TODAY value:green
BackgroundColors = canvas:bg ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightline unit:year increment:1 start:$start ScaleMajor = gridcolor:lighttext unit:year increment:10 start:1880
Define $dy = -5 # shift text to button side of bar
LineData =
at:$now color:TODAY width:0.1
PlotData=
bar:1 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1898.5833 till:1950.1666 shift:(-74,$dy) textcolor:NAME align:left text:P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja color:CM_INC from:1950.1666 till:1952.3333 color:LIFESPAN from:1952.3333 till:1957.2916
bar:2 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1878.94 till:1952.3333 shift:(-55,$dy) textcolor:NAME align:left text:C. Rajagopalachari color:CM_INC from:1952.3333 till:1954.3333 color:LIFESPAN from:1954.3333 till:1972.98
bar:3 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1903.5833 till:1954.3333 shift:(-33,$dy) textcolor:NAME align:left text:K. Kamaraj color:CM_INC from:1954.3333 till:1963.8333 color:LIFESPAN from:1963.8333 till:1975.8333
bar:4 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1897.8333 till:1963.8333 shift:(-57,$dy) textcolor:NAME align:left text:M. Bhakthavatsalam color:CM_INC from:1963.8333 till:1967.25 color:LIFESPAN from:1967.25 till:1987.1667
bar:5 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1909.75 till:1967.25 shift:(0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:C. N. Annadurai color:CM_DMK from:1967.25 till:1969.1667
bar:6 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1920.5833 till:1969.2 shift:(0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:V. R. Nedunchezhiyan color:CM_DMK from:1969.2 till:1969.4 color:LIFESPAN from:1969.4 till:1987.9 color:CM_AIADMK from:1987.9 till:1988 color:LIFESPAN from:1988 till:2000.08333
bar:7 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:left fontsize:M from:1924.5 till:1969.4 shift:(-50,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:M. Karunanidhi color:CM_DMK from:1969.4 till:1976.1667 color:LIFESPAN from:1976.1667 till:1989.1667 color:CM_DMK from:1989.1667 till:1991.1667 color:LIFESPAN from:1991.1667 till:1996.4167 color:CM_DMK from:1996.4167 till:2001.4167 color:LIFESPAN from:2001.4167 till:2006.4167 color:CM_DMK from:2006.4167 till:2011.4167 color:LIFESPAN from:2011.4167 till:2018.6667
bar:8 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:left fontsize:M from:1917.08333 till:1977.5833 shift:(-65,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:M. G. Ramachandran color:CM_AIADMK from:1977.5833 till:1980.1667 color:LIFESPAN from:1980.1667 till:1980.5 color:CM_AIADMK from:1980.5 till:1987.98
bar:9 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:left fontsize:M from:1924.75 till:1988.08333 shift:(-85,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:V. N. Janaki Ramachandran color:CM_AIADMK from:1988.08333 till:1988.1667 color:LIFESPAN from:1988.1667 till:1996.4167
bar:10 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:left fontsize:M from:1948.1667 till:1991.56 shift:(-45,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:J. Jayalalithaa color:CM_AIADMK from:1991.56 till:1996.4167 color:LIFESPAN from:1996.4167 till:2001.4167 color:CM_AIADMK from:2001.4167 till:2001.75 color:LIFESPAN from:2001.75 till:2002.25 color:CM_AIADMK from:2002.25 till:2006.4167 color:LIFESPAN from:2006.4167 till:2011.4167 color:CM_AIADMK from:2011.4167 till:2014.75 color:LIFESPAN from:2014.75 till:2015.4167 color:CM_AIADMK from:2015.4167 till:2016.92
bar:11 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1951.08333 till:2001.75 shift:(-2,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:O. Panneerselvam color:CM_AIADMK from:2001.75 till:2002.25 color:LIFESPAN from:2002.25 till:2014.75 color:CM_AIADMK from:2014.75 till:2015.4167 color:LIFESPAN from:2015.4167 till:2016.92 color:CM_AIADMK from:2016.92 till:2017.1667 color:LIFESPAN from:2017.1667 till:$now
bar:12 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:left fontsize:M from:1954.4167 till:2017.1667 shift:(-75,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Edappadi K. Palaniswami color:CM_AIADMK from:2017.1667 till:2021.4167 color:LIFESPAN from:2021.4167 till:$now
bar:13 width:20 color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M from:1953.25 till:2021.4167 shift:(-10,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:M. K. Stalin color:CM_DMK from:2021.4167 till:$now color:LIFESPAN from:$now till:$now
TextData =
fontsize:M textcolor:red pos:($warning,30) text:Updated 2026
TextData =
pos:(320,$height) fontsize:L textcolor:black text:"Lifespan of each chief minister of Tamil Nadu"
</timeline>
See also
- History of Tamil Nadu
- Politics of Tamil Nadu
- Elections in Tamil Nadu
- Governor of Tamil Nadu
- Chief Secretariat of Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
- List of current Indian chief ministers
- Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
- Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
- List of leaders of the house in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Notes
References
External links
Template:Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Template:Chief Ministers of Indian States Template:Tamil Nadu Template:Government Departments of Tamil Nadu Template:Authority control