List of governors of Assam

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This is a list of governors of Assam, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

Governor of Assam
since 30 July 2024
StyleHis Excellency
ResidenceRaj Bhawan, Guwahati
AppointerPresident of India
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the President
Inaugural holderMuhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari (Independent India)
Nicholas Beatson-Bell (Pre-Independent India)
Formation3 January 1921; 103 years ago (1921-01-03)
Websitehttps://rajbhavan.assam.gov.in

The governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the president of India in the state of Assam. The governor is appointed by the president of India. The current governor is Lakshman Acharya.

Powers and functions

The governor has:

  • Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals
  • Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad
  • Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor

British military commanders in occupied Assam (1824–26)

In 1824, British forces occupied Assam, which was politically never part of either India or Burma

  • George McMorine, 1824
  • Arthur Richards, 1824–26

British political agents in Assam (1826–28)

On 24 February 1826, the Treaty of Yandaboo ceded portions of Assam from Burma to Britain.

Commissioners of Assam (1828–74)

In 1828, Western Assam was incorporated into the province of Bengal, followed by the rest of Assam in 1833. A commissioner of Assam was appointed, subordinate to the governor of Bengal.

Chief commissioners of Assam (1874–1905)

In 1874, Assam was separated from the Bengal Presidency, and its status was upgraded to a chief commissioner's province.

Lieutenant governors of East Bengal and Assam (1905–12)

In 1905, Bengal was partitioned and East Bengal and Assam was formed, governed by a lieutenant governor.

Chief commissioners of Assam (1912–21)

In 1912, East Bengal was re-incorporated into the Bengal presidency, and Assam Province was again governed by a chief commissioner.

Governors of Assam (1921–47)

In 1921, the chief commissionership was upgraded to governor.

  1. Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson-Bell, 3 January 1921 – 2 April 1921
  2. Sir William Sinclair Marris, 3 April 1921 – 10 October 1922
  3. Sir John Henry Kerr, 10 October 1922 – 28 June 1927
  4. Sir Egbert Laurie Lucas Hammond, 28 June 1927 – 11 May 1932
  5. Sir Michael Keane, 11 May 1932 – 4 March 1937
  6. Sir Robert Niel Reid, 4 March 1937 – 4 May 1942
    1. Henry Joseph Twynam, 24 February 1938 – 4 October 1939, (acting for Reid)
  7. Sir Andrew Gourlay Clow, 4 May 1942 – 4 May 1947
    1. Frederick Chalmers Bourne, 4 April 1946–?, (acting for Clow)
    2. Henry Foley Knight, 4 September 1946 – 23 December 1946, (acting for Clow)
  8. Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, 4 May 1947 – 15 August 1947

Governors of Assam since 1947

No. Name Portrait Took office Left office Duration Home State Appointed by
1. Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari   15 Aug 1947 29 Dec 1948 1 year, 136 days Andhra Pradesh Lord Mountbatten
- Ronald Francis Lodge (acting)   30 December 1948 15 February 1949 47 days Not Known C. Rajagopalachari
2. Sri Prakasa   16 Feb 1949 26 May 1950 1 year, 99 days Uttar Pradesh
3. Jairamdas Daulatram   27 May 1950 14 May 1956 5 years, 353 days British India Rajendra Prasad
4. Saiyid Fazal Ali   15 May 1956 22 August 1959 3 years, 99 days Bihar
5. Chandreswar Prasad Sinha   23 August 1959 13 October 1959 51 days Not Known
6. Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh   14 October 1959 12 November 1960 1 year, 29 days Maharashtra
7. Vishnu Sahay   13 November 1960 12 February 1961 91 days Uttar Pradesh
(6). Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh   13 February 1961 7 September 1962 1 year, 206 days Maharashtra
(7). Vishnu Sahay   8 September 1962 16 April 1968 5 years, 221 days Uttar Pradesh Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
8. Braj Kumar Nehru   17 April 1968 7 December 1970 2 years, 234 days Zakir Husain
- Parbati Kumar Goswami
(acting for Nehru)
  8 December 1970 4 January 1971 27 days Assam V. V. Giri
(8). Braj Kumar Nehru   5 January 1971 18 September 1973 2 years, 256 days Uttar Pradesh
9. Lallan Prasad Singh   19 September 1973 11 August 1981 7 years, 326 days Bihar
10. Prakash Mehrotra   12 August 1981 28 March 1984 2 years, 229 days Uttar Pradesh Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
11. Tribeni Sahai Misra   29 March 1984 15 April 1984 17 days Not Known Zail Singh
12. Bhishma Narain Singh   16 April 1984 11 May 1989 5 years, 25 days Jharkhand
13. Harideo Joshi   12 May 1989 26 July 1989 75 days Rajasthan R. Venkataraman
14. Anisetti Raghuvir   27 July 1989 1 May 1990 278 days Not Known
15. Devi Das Thakur   2 May 1990 16 March 1991 318 days Jammu and Kashmir
16. Loknath Mishra   17 March 1991 31 August 1997 6 years, 167 days Odisha
17. Srinivas Kumar Sinha   1 September 1997 20 April 2003 5 years, 231 days Bihar K. R. Narayan
18. Arvind Dave   21 April 2003 4 June 2003 44 days Rajasthan A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
19. Ajai Singh   5 June 2003 3 July 2008 5 years, 28 days
20. Shiv Charan Mathur   4 July 2008 25 June 2009 356 days Pratibha Patil
21. K Sankaranarayanan   26 June 2009 26 July 2009 30 days Kerala
22. Syed Sibtey Razi   27 July 2009 10 December 2009 136 days Uttar Pradesh
23. Janaki Ballabh Patnaik   11 November 2009 11 December 2014 5 years, 30 days Odisha
24. Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya   12 December 2014 [1] 21 August 2016 1 year, 253 days Karnataka Pranab Mukherjee
25. Banwarilal Purohit   22 August 2016 [2] 9 October 2017 1 year, 48 days Maharashtra
26. Jagdish Mukhi   10 October 2017[3] 14 February 2023 5 years, 127 days Delhi Ramnath Kovind
27. Gulab Chand Kataria   22 February 2023 29 July 2024 1 year, 158 days Rajasthan Draupadi Murmu
28. Lakshman Prasad Acharya   30 July 2024 Incumbent 148 days Uttar Pradesh

See also

References

  1. ^ "P B Acharya to assume additional charge as Assam Governor". The Indian Express. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Najma Heptulla, Mukhi appointed Governors". Business Standard India. 17 August 2016.
  3. ^ The Times of India (30 September 2017). "New governors appointed: All you need to know". Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.