List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu

The complete list of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu consists of the heads of government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

in the history of the state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

in India since 1920. The area under the present-day state of Tamil Nadu has been part of different territorial configurations under Madras Presidency

Madras Presidency

The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

and Madras State

Madras State

Madras State was the name by which the Indian districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Northern Kerala, Bellary and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953....

in its history

History of Tamil Nadu

The region of Tamil Nadu in modern India has been under continuous human habitation since prehistoric times, and the history of Tamil Nadu and the civilization of the Tamil people are among the oldest in the world. Throughout its history, spanning the early Paleolithic age to modern times, this...

Madras Presidency

The Madras Presidency

Madras Presidency

The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...

, headquartered in Fort St. George, was a province of British India that comprised present day Tamil Nadu, the Malabar region of North Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, the coastal

Coastal Andhra

Coastal Andhra or Kosta, is a region of India's Andhra Pradesh State. This region was part of Madras State before 1953 and Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. According to the 2011 census, it has an area of and a population of 3,41,93,868...

and Rayalaseema

Rayalaseema

Rayalaseema is a geographic region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It includes the districts of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool. These Telugu speaking districts were part of Madras Presidency until 1953 when Telugu speaking districts of Madras presidency were carved out to form...

regions of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, and the Bellary

Bellary

Bellary is a historic city in Bellary District in Karnataka state, India.-Origins of the city's name:There are several legends about how Bellary got its name....

, Dakshina Kannada

Dakshina Kannada

- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...

, and Udupi districts of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. It was established in 1653 to be the headquarters of the English settlements on the Coromandel Coast

Coromandel Coast

The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...

.

The territory under the presidency initially 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 expanded to comprise the region from Northern Circars to Cape Comorin. Alongside, 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. With the enactment of Government of India Act 1919

Government of India Act 1919

-See also:*British India*British Raj*History of Bangladesh*History of India*History of Pakistan*Governor-General of India*Government of India Act*India Office*Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms*Secretary of State for India...

, the first legislature was formed in 1920 after general elections. The term of the legislative council

Legislative Council

A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...

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
Government of India Act 1935
The Government of India Act 1935 was originally passed in August 1935 , and is said to have been the longest Act of Parliament ever enacted by that time. Because of its length, the Act was retroactively split by the Government of India Act 1935 into two separate Acts:# The Government of India...

, a bicameral legislature was setup 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 three years.

In 1939, the British government

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

declared India's entrance into World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

without consulting provincial governments. Congress protested by asking all its elected representatives to resign from the governments. Congress came back to power in 1946 after new provincial elections.

	Name	Took office	Left office	Term	Political party	Election
1	A. Subbarayalu Reddiar A. Subbarayalu Reddiar Diwan Bahadur Agaram Subbarayalu Reddiar was a landlord, Justice Party leader and Chief Minister or Premier of Madras Presidency from December 17, 1920 to July 11, 1921....	17 December 1920	11 July 1921	1	Justice Party Justice Party (India) The Justice Party , officially known as South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. The party was established in 1917 by T. M. Nair and Theagaroya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency...	1920 Madras Legislative Council Election Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1920 The first legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919, was held in November 1920. Indian National Congress boycotted the election due to its participation in the Non-cooperation movement...
2	Raja of Panagal	11 July 1921	11 September 1923	1	Justice Party
3	Raja of Panagal	19 November 1923	3 December 1926	2	Justice Party	1923 Madras Legislative Council Election Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1923 The second legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919 was held in 1923. Voter turnout was higher than the previous election. Swarajists, a breakaway group from Indian National Congress...
4	P. Subbarayan P. Subbarayan Paramasiva Subbarayan was an Indian politician, freedom fighter and diplomat and was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency, India's ambassador to Indonesia and Union Minister of Transport and Communications in Jawaharlal Nehru's government. He is the father of General P. P...	4 December 1926	27 October 1930	1	Unaffiliated	1926 Madras Legislative Council Election Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1926 The third legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919, was held in November 1926. Justice party lost the election to Swaraj Party. However, as the Swaraja Party refused to form the Government, the...
5	B. Munuswamy Naidu	27 October 1930	4 November 1932	1	Justice Party	1930 Madras Legislative Council Election Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1930 The fourth legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919 in September 1930. Justice party won the election and P. Munuswamy Naidu became the first Chief Minister...
6	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao Ramakrishna Ranga Rao Raja Sri Ravu Svetachalupati Sir Ramakrishna Ranga Rao KCIE was an Indian politician and zamindar who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from November 5, 1932 to April 4, 1936 and August 24, 1936 to April 1, 1937.Ramakrishna Ranga Rao was born in the royal family of Bobbili...	5 November 1932	November 1934	1	Justice Party
7	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao	November 1934	4 April 1936	2	Justice Party	1934 Madras Legislative Council Election Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1934 The fifth legislative council election to Madras Presidency after the establishment of dyarchical system of government by the Government of India Act, 1919. The ruling Justice party lost the election and the opposition Swaraj Party emerged as the single largest party. However it refused to form...
8	P. T. Rajan P. T. Rajan Sir Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan was the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from April 4, 1936 to August 24, 1936. He was also the last President of the Justice Party....	4 April 1936	24 August 1936	1	Justice Party
9	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao	24 August 1936	1 April 1937	3	Justice Party
10	Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu Rao Bahadur Sir Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu KCSI was an Indian lawyer, professor, politician and Justice Party leader who served as the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency from April 1, 1937 to July 14, 1937...	1 April 1937	14 July 1937	1	Interim provisional ministry	1937 Madras Legislative Assembly Election Madras Presidency legislative assembly election, 1937 The First legislative assembly election for the Madras Presidency was held in February 1937. The Indian National Congress obtained a majority by winning 159 of 215 seats in the Legislative Assembly. This was the first electoral victory for the Congress in the presidency since elections were first...
11	C. Rajagopalachari C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...	14 July 1937	29 October 1939	1	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
	Governor's Rule	29 October 1939	30 April 1946
12	Tanguturi Prakasam Tanguturi Prakasam Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu was an Indian politician and Freedom Fighter and the first Chief Minister of the Indian province Andhra state...	30 April 1946	23 March 1947	1	Indian National Congress	1946 Madras Legislative Assembly Election Madras Presidency legislative assembly election, 1946 The second legislative assembly election for the Madras Presidency after the establishment of a bicameral legislature by the Government of India Act of 1935 was held in 1946. The election was held after 6 years of Governor's rule starting from 1939, when the Indian National Congress government of...
13	O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar Omandur Ramasamy Reddiar was an Indian freedom-fighter and politician of the Indian National Congress. He served as the Premier of Madras Presidency from March 23, 1947 to April 6, 1949.-Early life:...	23 March 1947	6 April 1949	1	Indian National Congress
14	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja Poosapati Sanjeevi Kumarswamy Raja was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu , India from April 6, 1949 to April 10, 1952. He was born in Rajapalayam in Tamil Nadu.-Early life:...	6 April 1949	26 January 1950	1	Indian National Congress

Madras State

Madras State was the name by which the Indian districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Northern Kerala, Bellary and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953....

, precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after India became a republic

Republic Day (India)

The Republic Day of India commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950....

on 26 January 1950. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

, Karnataka

Karnataka

and Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. The first legislature of the Madras State to be elected on the basis of universal suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

was constituted on 1 March 1952, after the general elections held in January 1952.

The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines in 1953, carving out Andhra State

Andhra State

Andhra State was a state in India created on October 1, 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras Presidency. On November 1, 1956 it was merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the united Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh.- Madras Manade movement :In 1953,...

. Under the States Reorganisation Act

States Reorganisation Act

The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...

, 1956, the States of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, and Mysore

Mysore State

The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...

were carved out of the Madras state. Under the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act

Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act

Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act, enacted in 1959 by the Parliament of India under the provisions of article 3 of the constitution, went into with effect from April 1, 1960...

, 1959, with effect from 1 April 1960, Tirutani taluk and Pallipattu sub-taluk of Chittoor

Chittoor

Chittoor also known as Chittur, is a City and municipal corporation located in the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is conveniently located on major highways linking the cities of Bangalore and Chennai....

district of Andra Pradesh were transferred to Madras State in exchange for territories from the Chingelput and Salem Districts.

	Name	Took office	Left office	Term	Political party	Election
1	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja Poosapati Sanjeevi Kumarswamy Raja was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu , India from April 6, 1949 to April 10, 1952. He was born in Rajapalayam in Tamil Nadu.-Early life:...	26 January 1950	9 April 1952	1	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	1946 Madras Legislative Assembly Election Madras Presidency legislative assembly election, 1946 The second legislative assembly election for the Madras Presidency after the establishment of a bicameral legislature by the Government of India Act of 1935 was held in 1946. The election was held after 6 years of Governor's rule starting from 1939, when the Indian National Congress government of...
2	C. Rajagopalachari C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...	10 April 1952	13 April 1954	2	Indian National Congress	1952 Madras Legislative Assembly Election Madras legislative assembly election, 1952 The first legislative assembly Election to the Madras state on the basis of universal adult suffrage was held in March 1952. This was the first election held in Madras state after the Indian Independence...
3	K. Kamaraj K. Kamaraj Kumarasami Kamaraj better known as K. Kamaraj was an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during 1954-1963 and a Member of Parliament during 1952-1954 and 1969-1975...	13 April 1954	31 March 1957	1	Indian National Congress
4	K. Kamaraj	13 April 1957	1 March 1962	2	Indian National Congress	1957 Madras Legislative Assembly Election
5	K. Kamaraj	15 March 1962	2 October 1963	3	Indian National Congress	1962 Madras Legislative Assembly Election Madras legislative assembly election, 1962 The third legislative assembly election to the Madras state was held on 21 February 1962. The Indian National Congress party, led by K. Kamaraj, won the election. This was the last time that Congress won an election in Tamil Nadu...
6	M. Bakthavatsalam M. Bakthavatsalam Minjur Bhaktavatsalam was an Indian lawyer, politician and freedom fighter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He served as the Chief Minister of Madras state from October 2, 1963 to March 6, 1967...	2 October 1963	6 March 1967	1	Indian National Congress
7	C. N. Annadurai C. N. Annadurai Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai , popularly called Anna , or Arignar Anna was a former Chief Minister of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu...	6 March 1967	14 January 1969	1	DMK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...	1967 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1967 The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress . Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities and a...

Tamil Nadu

Madras State

Madras State was the name by which the Indian districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Northern Kerala, Bellary and Dakshina Kannada were collectively known as from 1950 to 1953....

was renamed as Tamil Nadu (Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

for Tamil country) on 14 January 1969. The legislative assembly adopted a resolution on 14 May 1986, to abolish the legislative council

Legislative Council

. Thereafter, the legislative council was abolished through an act of Parliament named the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1986 with effect from 1 November 1986. The state legislature is presently unicameral with legislative assembly consisting of 235 members including one nominated member.

The Chief Minister commands most of the executive powers while the Governor

Governors of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is a state in southern India. Like all states, the governor is a nominal head and representative of the President of India. He or she is appointed by the president for a five year term. This list includes both nominated and acting heads of state in the history of the state of Tamil Nadu...

has a largely ceremonial role. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, like other Chief Ministers of India, is elected by legislators of the political party or the coalition

Coalition

A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...

which commands a simple majority

Majority

A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...

in the legislative assembly

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....

. The tenure of the Chief Minister extends as long as he or she enjoys the confidence of the assembly. The incumbent shall vacate the office in the event of a successful motion of no confidence

Motion of no confidence

A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...

. Also, 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...

, acting under the recommendations of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

, can dismiss an elected government using certain provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution of India

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...

. In 1976, Karunanidhi's government was dismissed and President's rule was imposed on the grounds of corruption. If a vacancy is caused to the office of the Chief Minister due to death, demitting, or dismissal, the Governor can invite another person to form the government and request him or her to move a confidence-seeking motion in the Assembly. In the event of no one enjoying majority support, the Assembly is either dissolved or put in suspended animation and the state comes under President's rule

President's rule

President's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...

or a caretaker government until fresh elections are held for the assembly.

	Name	Took office	Left office	Term	Political party	Election
1	C. N. Annadurai C. N. Annadurai Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai , popularly called Anna , or Arignar Anna was a former Chief Minister of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu...	14 January 1969	3 February 1969	1	DMK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...	1967 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1967 The fourth legislative assembly election of Madras State was held in February 1967. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led coalition under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai won the election defeating the Indian National Congress . Anti-Hindi agitations, the rising prices of essential commodities and a...
2	V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (acting)	3 February 1969	10 February 1969	1	DMK
3	M. Karunanidhi M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...	10 February 1969	4 January 1971	1	DMK
4	M. Karunanidhi	15 March 1971	31 January 1976	2	DMK	1971 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1971 The fifth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held in March 1971. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was re-elected, after its first victory under the leadership of C N Annadurai in 1967. This was the first time M. Karunanidhi, contested as the leader of DMK party won the election, since he...
	President's rule President's rule President's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...	31 January 1976	30 June 1977
5	M. G. Ramachandran M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....	30 June 1977	17 February 1980	1	AIADMK All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...	1977 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1977 The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on June 10, 1977. Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam . M. G. Ramachandran was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time. The election was a four cornered contest between...
	President's rule	17 February 1980	9 June 1980
6	M. G. Ramachandran	9 June 1980	15 November 1984	2	AIADMK	1980 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1980 The seventh legislative assembly election to Tamil Nadu was held on May 28, 1980. Election was held two years before the end of the term of M. G. Ramachandran administration as it was dissolved by the then President of India Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam allied with the Indian...
7	M. G. Ramachandran	10 February 1985	24 December 1987	3	AIADMK	1984 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1984 The eighth legislative assembly election for Tamil Nadu was held on December 24, 1984. Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election and its leader, incumbent M. G. Ramachandran was sworn in as Chief Minister, for the third time. This was the last time, where a Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu has...
8	V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (acting)	24 December 1987	7 January 1988	2	AIADMK
9	Janaki Ramachandran Janaki Ramachandran Janaki Ramachandran , popularly known as V.N. Janaki , was an Indian Tamil actress and politician. She was born to Rajagopal Iyer and Narayani Amma in the town of Vaikom in Kerala State. She had a brother P. Narayanan who was an educationalist...	7 January 1988	30 January 1988	1	AIADMK
	President's rule	30 January 1988	27 January 1989
10	M. Karunanidhi	27 January 1989	30 January 1991	3	DMK	1989 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1989 The ninth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 21 January 1989. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the Chief Minister. It was his third term in office...
	President's rule	30 January 1991	24 June 1991
11	J. Jayalalithaa J. Jayalalithaa Jayalalithaa Jayaram ; born 24 February 1948) commonly referred to as J. Jayalalitha, is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian party. She is called Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by her...	24 June 1991	12 May 1996	1	AIADMK	1991 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1991 The tenth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 24 June 1991. The Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Indian National Congress alliance won the elections in a landslide and ADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa became the chief minister. This was her first term in office...
12	M. Karunanidhi	13 May 1996	13 May 2001	4	DMK	1996 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1996 The eleventh legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 2 May 1996. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led front won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the chief minister.This was his fourth term in office. The incumbent Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government was...
-	J. Jayalalithaa	14 May 2001	21 September 2001	-	AIADMK	2001 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 2001 The twelfth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on May 10, 2001. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam -led front won the elections and its leader, J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister, even though she could not legally run as MLA in this election. She was unanimously...
13	O. Panneerselvam O. Panneerselvam O. Paneerselvam is the current Finance Minister and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Prior to his entry into politics, he owned agricultural lands and a tea shop which he still owns. He was the chairman of Periakulam municipality in 1996. Then he contested the 2001 MLA election from...	21 September 2001	1 March 2002	1	AIADMK
14	J. Jayalalithaa	2 March 2002	12 May 2006	2	AIADMK
15	M. Karunanidhi	13 May 2006	15 May 2011	5	DMK	2006 State assembly election Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 2006 The thirteenth legislative assembly election, of Tamil Nadu was held on May 8, 2006. It was held for all 234 constituencies to elect the government in the state of for the following five years. The votes were counted three days later on May 11, 2006 and all the results were out by the end of the day...
16	J. Jayalalithaa	16 May 2011	Incumbent Incumbent The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...	3	AIADMK	2011 State assembly election

Records

Ignoring an intervening President's rule
President's rule
President's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...

from 17 February 1980 to 9 June 1980, the Chief Minister with the longest tenure (in successive terms) in office was M. G. Ramachandran
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....

, lasting 10 years, 5 months and 25 days from 30 June 1977 until his death on 24 December 1987.
K. Kamaraj
K. Kamaraj
Kumarasami Kamaraj better known as K. Kamaraj was an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during 1954-1963 and a Member of Parliament during 1952-1954 and 1969-1975...

was the Chief Minister with the longest tenure without intervening President's rules. His terms lasted from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963, i.e. 9 years, 5 months and 19 days.
The shortest period is 24 days by Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran
Janaki Ramachandran , popularly known as V.N. Janaki , was an Indian Tamil actress and politician. She was born to Rajagopal Iyer and Narayani Amma in the town of Vaikom in Kerala State. She had a brother P. Narayanan who was an educationalist...

who held office from 7 January 1988 to 30 January 1988.
The person to have been appointed Chief Minister the maximum number of times is M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...

. He is the only Chief Minister with 5 terms in office (10 February 1969–4 January 1971, 15 March 1971–31 January 1976, 27 January 1989–30 January 1991, 13 May 1996–13 May 2001, 13 May 2006–15 May 2011).