List of governors of Karnataka
| Governor of Karnataka | |
|---|---|
 Incumbent Vajubhai Vala since 1 September 2014 | |
| Residence | Raj Bhavan, Bengaluru |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | Five years |
| Inaugural holder | Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar |
| Formation | 1 November 1956 |
| Website | www.rajbhavan.kar.nic.in |
The Governor of Karnataka is the constitutional head of each of the south Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the President's pleasure. The governor is de jure head of the Government of Karnataka; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, which thus holds de facto executive authority in the state. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to act upon his or her own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the President's assent. Over the years, the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the central government–appointed governor.[1]
Since 1956, eighteen people have served as the Governor of Mysore (as the state was known before 1 November 1973) and Karnataka. The first was Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, previously the Maharaja of Mysore (1940–50) and the Rajpramukh of Mysore (1950–56). A majority of Karnataka's governors have been politicians (ten), another five have been civil servants. V. V. Giri went on become the fourth President of India, and Gopal Swarup Pathak the country's fourth Vice President.
Governors of Mysore and Karnataka
| No | Name | Term of office | Selected former office(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar | 1 November 1957 | 4 May 1963 | Maharaja of Mysore, Rajpramukh of Mysore |
| 2 |  | S. M. Shrinagesh | 4 May 1963 | 2 April 1965 | Chief of the Army Staff |
| 3 |  | V. V. Giri | 2 April 1965 | 13 May 1967 | |
| 4 | Gopal Swarup Pathak | 13 May 1967 | 30 August 1969 | Fourth Vice-President of India | |
| 5 | Padma Vibhushan Sir Dharma Vira | 23 October 1970 | 1 February 1972 | Governor of Punjab, Haryana, and Bengal | |
| 6 | Chief Minister Mohanlal Sukhadia | 1 February 1972 | 10 January 1975 | Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu | |
| 7 | Uma Shankar Dikshit | 10 January 1975 | 2 August 1977 | Governor of Bengal and the Minister of Home Affairs | |
| 8 | Govind Narain ICS | 2 August 1977 | 15 April 1982 | First and the only member of the Imperial Civil Service to have been appointed and served as Governor of Karnataka | |
| 9 | Ashoknath Banerji IAS | 16 April 1982 | 25 February 1987 | First member of the Indian Administrative Service to have served in this office | |
| 10 | Pendekanti Venkatasubbaiah | 26 February 1987 | 5 February 1990 | Governor of Bihar, Minister of Home and Parliamentary Affairs | |
| 11 | Bhanu Pratap Singh | 8 May 1990 | 6 January 1992 | Member of Parliament | |
| 12 | Khurshed Alam Khan | 6 January 1992 | 2 December 1999 | Member of Parliament, Governor of Goa | |
| 13 |  | Commissioner V. S. Ramadevi | 2 December 1999 | 20 August 2002 | Chief Election Commissioner of India, Secretary General of Rajya Sabha, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, the first and only female governor of Karnataka |
| 14 | Padma Vibhushan Auditor General T. N. Chaturvedi IAS | 21 August 2002 | 20 August 2007 | Comptroller and Auditor General of India | |
| 15 | Rameshwar Thakur | 21 August 2007 | 24 June 2009 | Governor of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh | |
| 16 | Hans Raj Bhardwaj | 24 June 2009 | 29 June 2014 | Union Minister of Law and Justice, Governor of Kerala | |
| 17 |  | Konijeti Rosaiah | 30 June 2014 | 31 August 2014 | Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Governor of Tamil Nadu |
| 18 |  | Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala | 1 September 2014 | Incumbent | Speaker of Gujarat Vidhan Sabha |
References
^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th edition, 2011 reprint. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. p. 237, 241–44. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Karnataka as well.
External links
- [1]
- Succession of Governors
- Karnataka Raj Bhavan Website
