The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of the Indian state of West Bengal and a representative of the President of India. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. His official residence is the Raj Bhavan. C. V. Ananda Bose was appointed as the current governor of West Bengal on 23 November 2022.[1]
| Governor of West Bengal | |
|---|---|
| Style | The Honourable (formal) Mr. Governor (informal) His/Her Excellency |
| Status | Head of state |
| Abbreviation | GoWB |
| Residence |
|
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | Five years (renewable) |
| Precursor | Governor-General of India |
| Inaugural holder | Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 |
| Salary | ₹350,000 (US$4,200) (per month) |
| Website | rajbhavankolkata |
History
In 1911 the imperial capital of India was moved from Calcutta to Delhi and as some compensation to Bengal the lieutenant governor with council gave place to a governor with a council thus completing the circle and reverting to the position which had been obtained 200 years ago. In 1947 India achieved independence and the title of Governor of Bengal remained.
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[timeframe?] 16) as per the Acts of the Universities. The Universities are: University of Calcutta; Jadavpur University; Presidency University, Kolkata; University of Kalyani; Rabindra Bharati University; Vidyasagar University; University of Burdwan; North Bengal 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 and West Bengal State University. For Visva Bharati, the governor is the Pradhana (Rector).
The governor is also the chairman or president of some organizations, 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.
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 organizations that are rendering yeoman service to the society in different fields.
1935–1947 – Governors of the Province of Bengal
| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Appointer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord Brabourne |  | 30 May 1937 | 23 February 1939 | The Marquess of Linlithgow |
| Sir John Arthur Herbert | 1 July 1939 | 1 December 1943 | ||
| The Lord Casey |  | 14 January 1944 | 19 February 1946 | The Viscount Wavell |
| Sir Frederick John Burrows | 19 February 1946 | 15 August 1947 |
List of governors
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari | 15 August 1947 | 21 June 1948 | 311 days |
| 2 |  | Kailash Nath Katju | 21 June 1948 | 1 November 1951 | 3 years, 133 days |
| 3 |  | Harendra Coomar Mookerjee | 1 November 1951 | 8 August 1956 | 4 years, 281 days |
| – | – | Phani Bhusan Chakravartti (acting) | 8 August 1956 | 3 November 1956 | 87 days |
| 4 | – | Padmaja Naidu | 3 November 1956 | 1 June 1967 | 10 years, 210 days |
| 5 |  | Dharma Vira | 1 June 1967 | 1 April 1969 | 1 year, 304 days |
| – | – | Deep Narayan Sinha (acting) | 1 April 1969 | 19 September 1969 | 171 days |
| 6 | – | Shanti Swaroop Dhavan | 19 September 1969 | 21 August 1971 | 1 year, 336 days |
| 7 | Anthony Lancelot Dias | 21 August 1971 | 6 November 1979 | 8 years, 77 days | |
| 8 | – | Tribhuvana Narayana Singh | 6 November 1979 | 12 September 1981 | 1 year, 310 days |
| 9 | – | Bhairab Dutt Pande | 12 September 1981 | 10 October 1983 | 2 years, 28 days |
| 10 | – | Anant Prasad Sharma | 10 October 1983 | 16 August 1984 | 320 days |
| — | – | Satish Chandra (acting) | 16 August 1984 | 1 October 1984 | 46 days |
| 11 |  | Uma Shankar Dikshit | 1 October 1984 | 12 August 1986 | 1 year, 315 days |
| 12 | .jpg) | Saiyid Nurul Hasan | 12 August 1986 | 20 March 1989 | 2 years, 220 days |
| 13 | .jpg) | T. V. Rajeswar | 20 March 1989 | 7 February 1990 | 324 days |
| (12) | | Saiyid Nurul Hasan | 7 February 1990 | 12 July 1993 | 3 years, 155 days |
| – | – | B. Satyanarayan Reddy (additional charge) | 13 July 1993 | 14 August 1993 | 32 days |
| 14 | .jpg) | K. V. Raghunatha Reddy | 14 August 1993 | 27 April 1998 | 4 years, 256 days |
| 15 | .jpg) | Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai | 27 April 1998 | 18 May 1999 | 1 year, 21 days |
| 16 |  | Shyamal Kumar Sen | 18 May 1999 | 4 December 1999 | 200 days |
| 17 |  | Viren J. Shah | 4 December 1999 | 14 December 2004 | 5 years, 10 days |
| 18 | .jpg) | Gopalkrishna Gandhi | 14 December 2004 | 14 December 2009 | 5 years, 0 days |
| – | ,_at_Patna,_in_Bihar._The_Governor_of_Bihar,_Shri_Devanand_Konwar_and_the_Chief_Minister_of_Bihar,_Shri_Nitish_Kumar_are_also_seen_(cropped).jpg) | Devanand Konwar (additional charge) | 14 December 2009 | 23 January 2010 | 40 days |
| 19 |  | M.K. Narayanan | 24 January 2010 | 30 June 2014 | 4 years, 157 days |
| — | .jpg) | D. Y. Patil (additional charge)[2] | 3 July 2014 | 17 July 2014 | 14 days |
| 20 |  | Keshari Nath Tripathi | 24 July 2014 | 29 July 2019 | 5 years, 5 days |
| 21 | .jpg) | Jagdeep Dhankhar[3] | 30 July 2019 | 17 July 2022 | 2 years, 352 days |
| — | .jpg) | La. Ganesan (additional charge) | 18 July 2022 | 22 November 2022 | 127 days |
| 22 |  | C. V. Ananda Bose | 23 November 2022 | Incumbent | 1 year, 205 days |