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List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry

Puducherry (formerly known as "Pondicherry") is a Union Territory of India. Governance and administration of the territory fall directly under federal authority.

Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry
புதுச்சேரி துணைநிலை ஆளுநர்

పుదుచ్చేరి లెఫ్టినెంట్ గవర్నర్

പുതുച്ചേരി ലെഫ്റ്റനന്റ് ഗവർണർ
Lieutenants-gouverneurs de Pondichéry
Emblem of Puducherry
since 7 August 2024
StyleHis Excellency (formal)
The Honourable (informal)
StatusHead of State (Union Territory)
Reports toPresident of India
Government of India
ResidenceRaj Niwas, Puducherry
AppointerPresident of India on the advice of the Government of India
Term length5 Years
Inaugural holderS. L. Silam
Formation14 October 1963
(61 years ago) (1963-10-14)

Chief Commissioner (1954 – 1963)

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Further information: Gouverneur Général de l'Inde française
Further information: List of consuls general of India in the French India

After the de facto transfer of French settlements in India, on November 1, 1954, a Chief Commissioner, appointed by Government of India, replaced the last Commissioner of French India, Georges Escargueil. The first High Commissioner, Kewal Singh was appointed immediately after the Kizhoor referendum, on 21 October 1954, as per Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947.[1]: 964  The Chief Commissioner had the powers of the former French commissioner, but was under the direct control of the Union Government.[2]: 198 

The list of Chief Commissioners is given below.[1]: 977 

No. Name Portrait Took office Left office De jure
sovereignty 		De facto
sovereignty
1 Kewal Singh   21 October 1954 16 November 1956 France France
(Until Nov 1 1954)
India
(Since Nov 1 1954)
2 M.K. Kripalani[3]: 103    17 November 1956 27 August 1958 India
3 Lal Ram Saran Singh[4]: 197    30 August 1958 8 February 1961
4 Sisir Kumar Dutta[2]: 474–475    2 May 1961 1 August 1963 France
(Until Aug 16 1962)
India
(Since Aug 16 1962)
5 K.J. Somasundaram[5]: 445    2 August 1963 13 October 1963 India

Lieutenant Governors

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The Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry resides at the Raj Nivas (French: Le Palais du Gouverneur) at the Nehru Park, the former palace of the Governor General of French India. The Central government is more directly involved in the financial well-being of the territory.

After de jure transfer in 1962, the State of Pondicherry is fully and legally integrated into Indian Union. After the formation of Union territory on July 1, 1963, the Lieutenant Governor has replaced High Commissioner in Pondicherry.

Only five Lt. Governors managed to serve more than four years. They are S.L. Silam, B.D.Jatti, B.T. Kulkarni, Rajani Rai and Kiran Bedi. Only S.L. Silam completed his 5-year term. Kiran Bedi is second longest serving Lt. Governor till date. The list of Lt. Governors of Puducherry is given below.[1]: 977 

No. Name Portrait Took office Left office Duration
1 S.L. Silam[a]   14 Oct 1963 13 Oct 1968 4 years, 365 days
2 B.D. Jatti   14 Oct 1968 7 Nov 1972 4 years, 24 days
3 Chhedilal   8 Nov 1972 29 Aug 1976 3 years, 295 days
4 B.T. Kulkarni   30 Aug 1976 31 Oct 1980 4 years, 62 days
5 Ram Kishore Vyas   1 Nov 1980 15 Apr 1981 165 days
- Sri Sadiq Ali[b]   16 Apr 1981 26 Jul 1981 101 days
6 R.N. Haldipur   27 Jul 1981 14 May 1982 291 days
7 K.M. Chandy   15 May 1982 5 Aug 1983 1 year, 82 days
8 Kona Prabhakara Rao   2 Sep 1983 17 Jun 1984 289 days
- S.L. Khurana[b]   18 Jun 1984 30 Sep 1984 104 days
9 Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary   1 Oct 1984 21 Jun 1988 3 years, 264 days
10 Ranjit Singh Dyal   22 Jun 1988 19 Feb 1990 1 year, 242 days
11 Chandrawati   19 Feb 1990 18 Dec 1990 302 days
12 Har Swarup Singh   19 Dec 1990 05 Feb 1993 2 years, 48 days
- Bishma Narain Singh[b]   06 Feb 1993 31 May 1993 2 years, 84 days
- Marri Channa Reddy[b]   31 May 1993 1 May 1995 1 year, 335 days
13 Rajendra Kumari Bajpai   2 May 1995 22 Apr 1998 2 years, 355 days
14 Rajani Rai   23 Apr 1998 29 Jul 2002 4 years, 97 days
15 K. R. Malkani   31 Jul 2002 27 Oct 2003 1 year, 88 days
- P.S. Rama Mohan Rao[b]   27 Oct 2003 5 Jan 2004 70 days
16 Nagendra Nath Jha   5 Jan 2004 6 Jul 2004 183 days
17 M. M. Lakhera   7 Jul 2004 18 Jul 2006 2 years, 11 days
18 Mukut Mithi   19 Jul 2006 12 Mar 2008 1 year, 237 days
19 Bhopinder Singh   15 Mar 2008 22 Jul 2008 129 days
20 Govind Singh Gurjar   23 Jul 2008 6 Apr 2009 257 days
- Surjit Singh Barnala[c]   9 Apr 2009 27 Jul 2009 109 days
21 Iqbal Singh   27 Jul 2009 9 Jul 2013 3 years, 347 days
22 Virendra Kataria   10 Jul 2013 11 Jul 2014 1 year, 1 day
23 A. K. Singh[6]   12 Jul 2014 26 May 2016 1 year, 319 days
24 Kiran Bedi[7]   28 May 2016 16 Feb 2021 4 years, 264 days
- Tamilisai Soundararajan
(additional charge) 		  18 Feb 2021 18 March 2024[8] 3 years, 30 days
- C.P. Radhakrishnan
(additional charge)
[d] 		  20 March 2024 6 August 2024 134 days
25 Kuniyil Kailashnathan[9]   7 August 2024 Incumbent 106 days

Notes

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  1. ^ T. SIVASANKAR – Addl. Charge during leave period
  2. ^ a b c d e Governor of Tamil Nadu, Additional Charge
  3. ^ Appointed as Administrator of Puducherry
  4. ^ Governor of Jharkhand and Telangana, Additional Charge

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Cabinet Responsibility to Legislature. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 2004. ISBN 9788120004009. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b The Statesman's Year-Book 1963: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations. MACMILLAN&Co.LTD, London. 1963. ISBN 9780230270893. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Civil Affairs". Monthly Journal of Local Govt. and Public Administration in India. 1958.
  4. ^ The Statesman's Year-Book 1960: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations. MACMILLAN&Co.LTD, London. 1960. ISBN 9780230270893. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ The Statesman's Year-Book 1964-65: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of all nations. Springer. 2016. ISBN 9780230270930. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Puducherry L-G Kataria sacked". Indian Express. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  7. ^ Cities (29 May 2016). "Kiran Bedi assumes charge as LG of Puducherry". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  8. ^ The Hindu (18 March 2024). "Tamilisai, Telangana Governor and Puducherry Lt. Governor, resigns to contest Lok Sabha polls". Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  9. ^ Bureau, The Hindu (7 August 2024). "Kailashnathan sworn-in as Lt. Governor of Puducherry". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 August 2024. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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