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List of governors of West Bengal

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Governor of West Bengal
since 18 November 2022 (2022-11-18)
StyleThe Honourable (formal)
Mr. Governor (informal)
His/Her Excellency
StatusHead of state
AbbreviationGoWB
Residence
AppointerPresident of India
Term lengthFive years (renewable)
PrecursorGovernor-General of India
Inaugural holderChakravarthi Rajagopalachari
Formation15 August 1947; 77 years ago (1947-08-15)
Salary₹350,000 (US$4,200) (per month)
Websiterajbhavankolkata.nic.in

The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of the Government of West Bengal. In the capacity of governor, the holder of the aforementioned is the constitutional representative of the President of India (the Union Government) in the state of West Bengal. C. V. Ananda Bose is the incumbent governor, having taken office on 18 November 2022.[1]

History

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In 1911 the imperial capital of India was moved from Calcutta to Delhi and as some compensation to Bengal the lieutenant governor with council gave place to a governor with a council thus completing the circle and reverting to the position which had been obtained 200 years ago. In 1947 India achieved independence and the title of Governor of Bengal remained.

Powers and functions

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See also: Governors of India § Powers and functions

The governor enjoys many different types of powers:

  • Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,
  • Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad, and
  • Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor.

Ex officio role of governor

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In his ex officio capacity, the governor of West Bengal is Chancellor of the universities of West Bengal (at present[timeframe?] 16) as per the Acts of the Universities. The Universities are: University of Calcutta; Jadavpur University; Presidency University, Kolkata; University of Kalyani; Rabindra Bharati University; Vidyasagar University; University of Burdwan; North Bengal University; Netaji Subhas Open University; Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology; Aliah University; Bankura University; Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University; Diamond Harbour Women's University; University of Gour Banga; Kazi Nazrul University; Raiganj University; Sidho Kanho Birsha University; Sanskrit College and University; West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Education Planning and Administration; Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya; Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya; West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences; West Bengal University of Health Sciences and West Bengal State University. For Visva Bharati, the governor is the Pradhana (Rector).

The governor is also the chairman or president of some organizations, such as Victoria Memorial Hall, Indian Museum, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), Calcutta Cultural Centre (Kolkata Kala Kendra), Special Fund for R&R of Ex-servicemen, West Bengal Rajya Sainik Board, Sri Aurobindo Samiti, Indian Red Cross Society - West Bengal State Branch, St. John Ambulance Brigade No. II (West Bengal) District, Bharat Scouts and Guides and the Bengal Tuberculosis Association.

Governor of West Bengal’s Welfare Fund, has the governor as its chairman. Contributions from this fund are given to the needy people for meeting, to some extent the cost of their treatment. Besides the above, at his discretion, the governor, accepts the position of Chief Patron/Patron or other posts in the honorary capacity, in various organizations that are rendering yeoman service to the society in different fields.

1935–1947 – Governors of the Province of Bengal

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Name Portrait Took office Left office Appointer
The Lord Brabourne 30 May 1937 23 February 1939 The Marquess of Linlithgow
Sir John Arthur Herbert 1 July 1939 1 December 1943
The Lord Casey 14 January 1944 19 February 1946 The Viscount Wavell
Sir Frederick John Burrows 19 February 1946 15 August 1947

List of governors

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Key
 • indicates that this was an additional charge
No. Name Portrait Took office Left office Duration Home State Appointed by
1. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari 15 August 1947 21 June 1948 311 days Tamil Nadu Lord Mountbatten
2. Kailash Nath Katju 21 June 1948 1 November 1951 3 years, 133 days Madhya Pradesh Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari
3. Harendra Coomar Mookerjee 1 November 1951 8 August 1956 4 years, 281 days West Bengal Rajendra Prasad
– Phani Bhusan Chakravartti 8 August 1956 3 November 1956 87 days Bengal
4. Padmaja Naidu 3 November 1956 1 June 1967 10 years, 210 days Andhra Pradesh
5. Dharma Vira 1 June 1967 1 April 1969 1 year, 304 days Uttar Pradesh Zakir Husain
– Deep Narayan Sinha 1 April 1969 19 September 1969 171 days Not Known
6. Shanti Swaroop Dhavan 19 September 1969 21 August 1971 1 year, 336 days V. V. Giri
7. Anthony Lancelot Dias 21 August 1971 6 November 1979 8 years, 77 days Maharashtra
8. Tribhuvana Narayana Singh 6 November 1979 12 September 1981 1 year, 310 days Uttar Pradesh Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
9. Bhairab Dutt Pande 12 September 1981 10 October 1983 2 years, 28 days Uttarakhand
10. Anant Prasad Sharma 10 October 1983 16 August 1984 320 days Bihar Zail Singh
— Satish Chandra 16 August 1984 1 October 1984 46 days Uttar Pradesh
11. Uma Shankar Dikshit 1 October 1984 12 August 1986 1 year, 315 days
12. Saiyid Nurul Hasan 12 August 1986 20 March 1989 2 years, 220 days
13. T. V. Rajeswar 20 March 1989 7 February 1990 324 days Tamil Nadu R. Venkataraman
(12). Saiyid Nurul Hasan 7 February 1990 12 July 1993 3 years, 155 days Uttar Pradesh
– B. Satyanarayan Reddy 13 July 1993 14 August 1993 32 days Andhra Pradesh Shankar Dayal Sharma
14. K. V. Raghunatha Reddy 14 August 1993 27 April 1998 4 years, 256 days
15. Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai 27 April 1998 18 May 1999 1 year, 21 days Uttar Pradesh K. R. Narayan
16. Shyamal Kumar Sen 18 May 1999 4 December 1999 200 days West Bengal
17. Viren J. Shah 4 December 1999 14 December 2004 5 years, 10 days
18. Gopalkrishna Gandhi 14 December 2004 14 December 2009 5 years, 0 days Delhi A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
– Devanand Konwar 14 December 2009 23 January 2010 40 days Assam Pratibha Patil
19. M.K. Narayanan 24 January 2010 30 June 2014 4 years, 157 days Tamil Nadu
— D. Y. Patil[2] 3 July 2014 17 July 2014 14 days Maharashtra Pranab Mukherjee
20. Keshari Nath Tripathi 24 July 2014 29 July 2019 5 years, 5 days Uttar Pradesh
21. Jagdeep Dhankhar[3] 30 July 2019 17 July 2022 2 years, 352 days Rajasthan Ramnath Kovind
— La. Ganesan 18 July 2022 17 November 2022 122 days Tamil Nadu
22. C. V. Ananda Bose 18 November 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 348 days Kerala Draupadi Murmu

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Singh, Shiv Sahay (23 November 2022). "C.V. Ananda Bose sworn in as West Bengal Governor". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Dr D Y Patil appointed West Bengal's acting Governor". The Economic Times. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Senior Advocate Jagdeep Dhankhar Made West Bengal Governor". www.livelaw.in. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
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