Governors of Assam
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Governors of Assam
, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
Today, the Governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the President of India
in the state of Assam
. The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of 5 years. H.E.
Janaki Ballav Patnaik is the current governor. He assumed charge of office on 27 November 2009.
.
, and its status was upgraded to a Chief Commissioner's Province.
.
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
Today, the Governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
in the state of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of 5 years. H.E.
Excellency
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...
Janaki Ballav Patnaik is the current governor. He assumed charge of office on 27 November 2009.
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.
British Military Commanders in occupied Assam (1824–1826)
In 1824, British forces occupied Assam, which was politically never part of either India or Burma * George McMorine, 1824- Arthur Richards, 1824–1826
British Political Agents in Assam (1826–1828)
On 24 February 1826, the Treaty of Yandaboo ceded portions of Assam from Burma to Britain.- David Scott, 1826–1828
Commissioners of Assam (1828–1874)
In 1828, lower Assam was incorporated into the province of Bengal, followed by the rest of Assam in 1833. A Commissioner of Assam was appointed, subordinate to the Governor of BengalGovernor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....
.
- David Scott, 1828–20 August 1831, continued
- Thomas Campbell RobertsonThomas Campbell RobertsonThomas Campbell Robertson was a British civil servant of Bengal Civil Service in India.He was appointed as Judge of the courts of the Ṣadr Dīwānī ʿAdālat and Ṣadr Nizāmat ʿAdālat at the Bengal Presidency in 1804....
, 1831–1834 - Francis Jenkins, 1834–1861
- Henry Hopkinson, 1861–1874
Chief Commissioners of Assam (1874–1905)
In 1874, Assam was separated from the Bengal PresidencyBengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...
, and its status was upgraded to a Chief Commissioner's Province.
- Richard Harte KeatingeRichard Harte KeatingeLieutenant General Richard Harte Keatinge VC CSI was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Life and career:Keatinge was born in Dublin...
, 1874–1878 - Stewart Colvin Bayley, 1878–1881
- Sir Charles Alfred Elliott, 1881–1885
- William Erskine Ward, 1885–1887, first time
- Sir Dennis Fitzpatrick, 1887–1889
- James Wallace QuintonJames Wallace QuintonJames Wallace Quinton was the chief commissioner of Assam from 1889 until his death.He was born the son of a wine merchant in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated BA in 1853....
, 1889–1891 - William Erskine Ward, 1891–1896, second time
- Sir Henry John Stedman CottonHenry John Stedman CottonSir Henry John Stedman Cotton, KCSI had a long career in the Indian Civil Service, during which he was sympathetic to Indian nationalism...
, 1896–1902 - Sir Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, 1902–1905
Lieutenant Governors of East Bengal and Assam (1905–1912)
In 1905, Bengal was partitioned and East Bengal and Assam was formed, governed by a Lieutenant Governor.- Sir Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, 1905–1906
- Lancelot Hare, 1906–1911
- Charles Stuart Bayley, 1911–1912
Chief Commissioners of Assam (1912–1921)
In 1912, East Bengal was re-incorporated into the Bengal Presidency, and Assam was again governed by a Chief Commissioner.- Sir Archdale Earle, 1912–1918
- Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson Bell, 1918–3 January 1921
Governors of Assam (1921–1947)
In 1921, the chief commissionership was upgraded to governor.- Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson Bell, 3 January 1921–2 April 1921, continued
- Sir William Sinclair MarrisWilliam Sinclair MarrisSir William Sinclair Marris KCSI, KCIE, HON. D. LITT. , HON, LITT.D. was a member of the Indian Civil Service during the British Raj...
, 3 April 1921–10 October 1922 - Sir John Henry KerrJohn Henry KerrSir John Henry Kerr, KCSI, KCIE was a colonial governor in British India-Life:John Henry Kerr was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the elder son , of John Smith Kerr, tea and sugar merchant of Greenock, and his wife, Sarah Ann Bray, elder daughter of Tom Cox Bray, an early settler of...
, 10 October 1922–28 June 1927 - Sir Egbert Laurie Lucas Hammond, 28 June 1927–11 May 1932
- Sir Michael Keane, 11 May 1932–4 March 1937
- Robert Neil Reid, 4 March 1937–4 May 1942
- Henry Joseph Tuynam, 24 February 1938–4 October 1939, acting for Reid
- Sir Andrew Gourlay Clow, 4 May 1942–4 May 1947
- Mutaguchi Renya, March 1944–July 1944, (Japanese occupation)
- A. C. Chatterjee, March 1944–July 1944, (for the provisional government of Free India)
- Rederik Chalmers Bourne, 4 April 1946–?, acting for Clow
- Henry Foley KnightHenry Foley KnightSir Henry Foley Knight KCSI CIE was a British administrator and civil servant who served as the Acting Governor of Madras in 1946.- Early life :...
, 4 September 1946–23 December 1946, acting for Clow
- Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, 4 May 1947–15 August 1947
Governors of Assam (1947—)
Since Indian independence, the Governor of Assam has been appointed by the President of IndiaPresident of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
.
- Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, 15 August 1947–28 December 1948
- Ronald Francis Lodge, 30 December 1948–16 February 1949, acting
- Sri PrakasaSri PrakasaSri Prakasa was an Indian politician, freedom-fighter and administrator. He served as India's first High Commissioner to Pakistan from 1947 to 1949, Governor of Assam from 1949 to 1950, Governor of Madras from 1952 to 1956 and Governor of Bombay from 1956 to 1962.Sri Prakasa was born in Varanasi...
, 16 February 1949–27 May 1950 - Jairam Das Daulatram, 27 May 1950–15 May 1956
- Saiyid Fazal Ali, 15 May 1956–22 August 1959
- Chandreswar Prasad Sinha, 23 August 1959–14 October 1959
- General (Retired) Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh, 14 October 1959–12 November 1960, first time
- Vishnu Sahay, ICS (Retired), 12 November 1960–13 January 1961, first time
- General (Retired) Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh, 13 January 1961–7 September 1962, second time
- Vishnu Sahay, ICS (Retired), 7 September 1962–17 April 1968, second time
- Braj Kumar NehruBraj Kumar NehruBraj Kumar Nehru was the son of Brijlal and Rameshwari Nehru and a relative of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru....
, ICS (Retired), 17 April 1968–19 September 1973- Justice P. K. Goswami, 8 December 1970–4 January 1971, acting for Nehru
- Lallan Prasad SinghLallan Prasad SinghLallan Prasad Singh was Governor of Assam , Manipur , Meghalaya , Nagaland , and Tripura .He died in 1998. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan award in 1999 after his death....
, ICS (Retired), 19 September 1973–10 August 1981 - Prakash Chandra Mehrotra, 10 August 1981–28 March 1984
- Justice T. S. Mishra, 28 March 1984–15 April 1984
- Bhishma Narain SinghBhishma Narain SinghBhishma Narain Singh is an Indian politician who served as the Governor of Assam from 1984 to 1989 and Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1991 to 1993.-Life Sketch:...
, 15 April 1984–10 May 1989 - Harideo Joshi, 10 May 1989–21 July 1989
- Justice Anisetti Raghuvir, 21 July 1989–2 May 1990
- Justice Devi Das Thakur, 2 May 1990–17 March 1991
- Loknath Mishra, 17 March 1991–1 September 1997
- Lt. General (Retired) Srinivas Kumar Sinha, PVSM, 1 September 1997–21 April 2003
- Arvind Dave, IPS (Retired)Arvind DaveArvind Dave is the former Governor of four states in India. He was the governor of Arunachal Pradesh during 1999-2003; of Manipur, from 2003 until August 6, 2004 and acting governor of Meghalaya and Assam briefly during 2002 and 2003 respectively...
, 21 April 2003–5 June 2003 - Lt. General (Retired) Ajai SinghAjai SinghLt Gen Ajai Singh PVSM A VSM is the governor of Assam state in India, since 2003. He is also the chairman of the North Eastern Council ....
, 5 June 2003—4 July 2008 - Shiv Charan MathurShiv Charan MathurShiv Charan Mathur was an Indian politician. A leader of the Indian National Congress, he was Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1988 to 1989; later, he was Governor of Assam from 2008 to 2009....
, 4 July 2008—25 June 2009 - K Sankaranarayanan, 26 June 2009-27 July 2009
- Syed Sibtey RaziSyed Sibtey RaziSyed Sibtey Razi is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress who has been Governor of Assam since July 2009. Previously he was Governor of Jharkhand.-Early life:...
, 27 July 2009 - 27 November 2009 - Janaki Ballabh PatnaikJanaki Ballabh PatnaikJanaki Ballabh Patnaik is an Indian politician who has been Governor of Assam since 2009. A leader of the Indian National Congress, he was Chief Minister of Orissa from 1980 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 1999, holding that post for the longest time on record....
, 27 November 2009 (incumbent)