The governor of Tamil Nadu is the constitutional head of state of Tamil Nadu and the representative of the president of India in the state. In the state, the governor holds an important position in ensuring that the administration functions according to the constitution of India. They are appointed by the president and serve as the nominal executive authority of the state. The governor’s official residences are the Lok Bhavan, located in Chennai and Udhagamandalam. The governor performs various duties, such as giving assent to bills passed by the state legislative assembly, appointing the chief minister, and overseeing the constitutional functioning of the state government. Although the real executive power lies with the council of ministers headed by the chief minister, the governor plays a vital role in maintaining the constitutional framework and stability of the state administration.
The current incumbent is Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who has been serving as an additional charge since 12 March 2026.
Qualifications
Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:
A governor:
- must be at least 35 years of age.
- should not be a member of either the houses of the parliament or the house of the state legislature.
- should not hold any office of profit.
Traditionally, governors are not appointed to lead the states where they reside, although this is not stipulated in the constitution.
Powers and functions
The governor has:
- Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals
- Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislative assembly and
- Discretionary powers are to be carried out according to the discretion of the Governor.
In his ex-officio capacity, the governor of Tamil Nadu is chancellor of the universities of Tamil Nadu as per the Acts of the Universities.
List
;Key
- Resigned
- Died in office
- Transferred
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+Governors of Madras Province
|-
!rowspan=2|#
!rowspan="2" class="unsortable"|Portrait
!rowspan=2|Name
<small></small>
!rowspan=2|Home state
!colspan=3|Tenure in office
!rowspan=2|Appointed by
|-
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
!1
|100px
|Archibald Nye<br/><small>(1895–1967)</small>
|Not applicable
|15 August 1947
|6 September 1948
|1 year, 22 days
|Lord Mountbatten
|-
!2
|
|Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji<br/><small>(1912–1965)</small>
|Gujarat
|7 September 1948
|25 January 1950
|1 year, 140 days
|C. Rajagopalachari
|}
;Development after independence
Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Province of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was adopted and included the present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala till 1 November 195.
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
|+Governors of Madras State
|-
!rowspan=2|#
!rowspan="2" class="unsortable"|Portrait
!rowspan=2|Name
<small></small>
!rowspan=2|Home state
!colspan=3|Tenure office
!rowspan=2|Appointed by
|-
!Took office
!Left office
!Time in office
|-
!1
|
|Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji<br/><small>(1912–1965)</small>
|Gujarat
|26 January 1950
|11 March 1952
|2 years, 45 days
|C. Rajagopalachari
|-
!2
|100px
|Sri Prakasa<br/><small>(1890–1971)</small>
|Uttar Pradesh
|12 March 1952
|9 December 1956
|4 years, 272 days
|rowspan=4|Rajendra Prasad
|-
!3
|
|A. J. John<br/><small>(1893–1957)</small>
|Keralam
|10 December 1956
|30 September 1957
|294 days
|-
!style="background:wheat;"|–
|style="background:wheat;"|100px
|style="background:wheat;"|P. V. Rajamannar<br/><small>(1901–1979)<br/>(Acting)</small>
|style="background:wheat;"|Tamil Nadu
|style="background:wheat;"|1 October 1957
|style="background:wheat;"|24 January 1958
|style="background:wheat;"|115 days
|-
!4
|100px
|Bishnu Ram Medhi<br/><small>(1888–1981)</small>
|Assam
|24 January 1958
|3 May 1964
|6 years, 100 days
|-
!5
|100px
|Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar<br/><small>(1919–1974)</small>
|Karnataka
|4 May 1964
|23 November 1964
|203 days
|rowspan=7|Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
|-
!style="background:wheat;"|–
|style="background:wheat;"|100px
|style="background:wheat;"|P. Chandra Reddy<br/><small>(1904–1976)<br/>(Acting)</small>
|style="background:wheat;"|Andhra Pradesh
|style="background:wheat;"|24 November 1964
|style="background:wheat;"|7 February 1965
|style="background:wheat;"|75 days
|-
!(5)
|100px
|Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar<br/><small>(1919–1974)</small>
|Karnataka
|8 February 1965
|14 August 1965
|187 days
|-
!style="background:wheat;"|–
|style="background:wheat;"|100px
|style="background:wheat;"|P. Chandra Reddy<br/><small>(1904–1976)<br/>(Acting)</small>
|style="background:wheat;"|Andhra Pradesh
|style="background:wheat;"|13 August 1965
|style="background:wheat;"|19 September 1965
|style="background:wheat;"|37 days
|-
!(5)
|100px
|Jaya Chamaraja Wadiyar<br/><small>(1919–1974)</small>
|Karnataka
|20 September 1965
|3 January 1966
|105 days
|-
!style="background:wheat;"|–
|style="background:wheat;"|100px
|style="background:wheat;"|P. Chandra Reddy<br/><small>(1904–1976)<br/>(Acting)</small>
|style="background:wheat;"|Andhra Pradesh
|style="background:wheat;"|4 January 1966
|style="background:wheat;"|27 June 1966
|style="background:wheat;"|174 days
|-
!rowspan=2|6
|rowspan=2|100px
|rowspan=2|Ujjal Singh<br/><small>(1895–1983)</small>
|rowspan=2|Punjab
|style="background:wheat;"|28 June 1966
|style="background:wheat;"|16 June 1967
|rowspan=2|2 years, 199 days
|-
|17 June 1967
|13 January 1969
|Zakir Husain
|}