List of governors of West Bengal
| Governor of West Bengal | |
|---|---|
since 12 March 2026 | |
| Style | The Honourable (formal) Mr. Governor (informal) His/Her Excellency |
| Status | Head of state |
| Abbreviation | GoWB |
| Residence |
|
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | At the pleasure of the president |
| Precursor | Governor-General of India |
| Inaugural holder | Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 |
| Salary | ₹350,000 (US$4,100) (per month) |
| Website | rajbhavankolkata |
The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of the Indian state of West Bengal. The governor is appointed by the President of India. R. N. Ravi is the incumbent governor since 12 March 2026.[1]
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
In his ex officio capacity, the governor of West Bengal is Chancellor of the universities of West Bengal (at present 16) as per the Acts of the Universities. The Universities are:
- University of Calcutta
- Jadavpur University
- University of Burdwan
- Presidency University, Kolkata
- North Bengal University
- University of Kalyani
- Rabindra Bharati University
- Vidyasagar 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
- West Bengal State University
- For Visva Bharati, the governor is the Pradhana (Rector).
The governor is also the chairman or president of some organisations, 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.
The 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 organisations that are rendering yeoman service to society in different fields.
List
- Legend
- Color key
- indicates acting/additional charge
| # | Portrait | Name (born – died) |
Home state | Tenure in office | Appointer (President) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878–1972) |
Madras Presidency | 15 August 1947 |
21 June 1948[‡][α] |
311 days | Lord Mountbatten (Governor-General) | |
| 2 | Kailash Nath Katju (1887–1968) |
Central Provinces and Berar | 21 June 1948 |
1 November 1951 |
3 years, 133 days | ||
| 3 | Harendra Coomar Mookerjee (1887–1956) |
West Bengal | 1 November 1951 |
7 August 1956[†] |
4 years, 280 days | Rajendra Prasad | |
| – | Justice Phani Bhusan Chakravartti (1898–1981) Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court (Acting) |
West Bengal | 8 August 1956 |
3 November 1956 |
87 days | ||
| 4 | Padmaja Naidu (1900–1975) |
Andhra Pradesh | 3 November 1956 |
1 June 1967 |
10 years, 210 days | ||
| 5 | Dharma Vira ICS (Retd.) (1906–2000) |
Uttar Pradesh | 1 June 1967 |
1 April 1969 |
1 year, 304 days | Zakir Husain | |
| – | Justice Deep Narayan Sinha Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court (Acting) |
West Bengal | 1 April 1969 |
19 September 1969 |
171 days | ||
| 6 | Shanti Swaroop Dhavan (1906–1978) |
Uttar Pradesh | 19 September 1969 |
21 August 1971 |
1 year, 336 days | V. V. Giri | |
| 7 | Anthony Lancelot Dias ICS (Retd.) (1910–2002) |
Maharashtra | 21 August 1971 |
6 November 1979 |
8 years, 77 days | ||
| 8 | Tribhuvan Narain Singh (1904–1982) |
Uttar Pradesh | 6 November 1979 |
12 September 1981 |
1 year, 310 days | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | |
| 9 | Bhairab Dutt Pande ICS (Retd.) (1917–2009) |
Uttar Pradesh | 12 September 1981 |
10 October 1983[§][β] |
2 years, 28 days | ||
| 10 | Anant Prasad Sharma (1919–1988) |
Bihar | 10 October 1983 |
16 August 1984 |
311 days | Zail Singh | |
| – | Justice Satish Chandra Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court (Acting) |
Uttar Pradesh | 16 August 1984 |
1 October 1984 |
46 days | ||
| 11 | Uma Shankar Dikshit (1901–1991) |
Uttar Pradesh | 1 October 1984 |
12 August 1986[‡] |
1 year, 315 days | ||
| 12 | Saiyid Nurul Hasan (1921–1993) |
Uttar Pradesh | 12 August 1986 |
20 March 1989[§][γ] |
2 years, 220 days | ||
| 13 | T. V. Rajeswar IPS (Retd.) (1926–2018) |
Tamil Nadu | 20 March 1989 |
7 February 1990[‡] |
324 days | Ramaswamy Venkataraman | |
| (12) | Saiyid Nurul Hasan (1921–1993) |
Uttar Pradesh | 7 February 1990 |
3 January 1991 |
330 days | ||
| – | K. V. Raghunatha Reddy (1924–2002) Governor of Tripura (Acting) |
Andhra Pradesh | 4 January 1991 |
23 January 1991 |
19 days | ||
| (12) | Saiyid Nurul Hasan (1921–1993) |
Uttar Pradesh | 24 January 1991 |
3 January 1992 |
344 days | ||
| – | Mohammad Shafi Qureshi (1928–2016) Governor of Bihar (Acting) |
Jammu and Kashmir | 3 January 1992 |
23 January 1992 |
20 days | ||
| (12) | Saiyid Nurul Hasan (1921–1993) |
Uttar Pradesh | 24 January 1992 |
12 July 1993[†] |
1 year, 169 days | ||
| – | B. Satya Narayan Reddy (1927–2012) Governor of Orissa (Additional Charge) |
Andhra Pradesh | 13 July 1993 |
14 August 1993 |
32 days | Shankar Dayal Sharma | |
| 14 | K. V. Raghunatha Reddy (1924–2002) |
Andhra Pradesh | 14 August 1993 |
27 April 1998 |
4 years, 256 days | ||
| 15 | Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai (1921–2016) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 27 April 1998 |
18 May 1999[‡] |
1 year, 21 days | K. R. Narayanan | |
| – | Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen (born 1940) Acting Chief Justice, Calcutta High Court (Acting) |
West Bengal | 18 May 1999 |
4 December 1999 |
200 days | ||
| 16 | Viren J. Shah (1926–2013) |
Gujarat | 4 December 1999 |
14 December 2004 |
5 years, 10 days | ||
| 17 | Gopalkrishna Gandhi IAS (Retd.) (born 1945) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 14 December 2004 |
14 December 2009 |
5 years, 0 days | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | |
| – | Devanand Konwar (1934–2020) Governor of Bihar (Additional Charge) |
Assam | 14 December 2009 |
23 January 2010 |
40 days | Pratibha Patil | |
| 18 | M. K. Narayanan IPS (Retd.) (born 1934) |
Tamil Nadu | 24 January 2010 |
30 June 2014[‡] |
4 years, 157 days | ||
| – | D. Y. Patil (born 1935) Governor of Bihar (Additional Charge) |
Maharashtra | 3 July 2014 |
17 July 2014 |
14 days | Pranab Mukherjee | |
| 19 | Keshari Nath Tripathi (1934–2023) |
Uttar Pradesh | 24 July 2014 |
29 July 2019 |
5 years, 5 days | ||
| 20 | Jagdeep Dhankhar (born 1951) |
Rajasthan | 30 July 2019 |
17 July 2022[‡][δ] |
2 years, 352 days | Ram Nath Kovind | |
| – | La. Ganesan (1945–2025) Governor of Manipur (Additional Charge) |
Tamil Nadu | 18 July 2022 |
17 November 2022 |
122 days | ||
| 21 | C. V. Ananda Bose IAS (Retd.) (born 1951) |
Keralam | 18 November 2022 |
12 March
2026[‡] |
3 years, 113 days | Droupadi Murmu | |
| 22 | R. N. Ravi IPS (Retd.) (born 1952) |
Bihar | 12 March
2026 |
Incumbent | 14 days | ||
- ^ Resigned to become the Governor-General of India
- ^ Transferred as the Governor of Punjab
- ^ Transferred as the Governor of Orissa
- ^ Resigned to become the Vice President of India
Oath
“I, A. B., do swear in the name of God/solemly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of Governor (or discharge the functions of the Governor) of West Bengal and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of West Bengal.”
See also
References
- ^ "New Governors in states, UT: TN's Ravi replaces Bose in Bengal ahead of polls, Hasnain for Bihar, Sandhu gets Delhi". The Indian Express. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.