List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.
The complete list of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu in the history of the state of Tamil Nadu in India since 1920. The area under the present-day state of Tamil Nadu has been part of different territorial configurations under Madras Presidency and Madras State in its history.
The current incumbent is Edappadi K. Palaniswami of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam since 16 February 2017.
Chief Ministers of Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, headquartered in Fort St. George, India, was a province of British India that comprised present day Tamil Nadu, the Malabar region of North Kerala, the coastal and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, and the Bellary, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi districts of Karnataka. It was established in 1653 to be the headquarters of the English settlements on the Coromandel Coast.The territory under the presidency comprised only Madraspatnam and surrounding regions. But, after the Anglo-French wars and the consequent alliance between the English East India Company and the Nawab of Arcot, it was expanded to comprise the region from Northern Circars to Cape Comorin. The governance structure also evolved from a modest secretariat with a single secretary for the Public Department in 1670 to six departments overseen by a chief secretary by 1920.
The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the Madras Legislative Council as an advisory body, without powers, through which the colonial administration obtained advice and assistance from able and willing Indian business leaders. But membership was selected and not representative of the masses.
With the enactment of Government of India Act 1919, the first legislature was formed in 1920 after general elections. The term of the legislative council was three years. It had 132 members of whom 34 were nominated by the governor and the rest were elected. Under the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature was set up with a legislative assembly consisting of 215 members and a legislative council having 56 members. The first legislative assembly under this act was constituted in July 1937. The legislative council was a permanent body with a third of its members retiring every 3 years with power to decide on bills passed by the assembly
In 1939, the British government declared India's entrance into World War II without consulting provincial governments. The Indian National Congress protested by asking all its elected representatives to resign from the governments. Congress came back to power in 1946 after new provincial elections.
;Key
- Assassinated or died in office
- Resigned
Timeline
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from: 17/12/1920 till: 11/07/1921 color:justice text:"A. Subbarayalu Reddiar" fontsize:10
from: 11/07/1921 till: 03/12/1926 color:justice text:"Panaganti Ramarayaningar" fontsize:10
from: 04/12/1926 till: 27/10/1930 color:noparty text:"P. Subbarayan" fontsize:10
from: 27/10/1930 till: 04/11/1932 color:justice text:"B. Munuswamy Naidu" fontsize:10
from: 05/11/1932 till: 04/04/1936 color:justice text:"Ramakrishna Ranga Rao" fontsize:10
from: 04/04/1936 till: 24/08/1936 color:justice text:"P. T. Rajan" fontsize:10
from: 24/08/1936 till: 01/04/1937 color:justice text:"Ramakrishna Ranga Rao" fontsize:10
from: 01/04/1937 till: 14/07/1937 color:noparty text:"Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu" fontsize:10
from: 14/07/1937 till: 29/10/1939 color:congress text:"C. Rajagopalachari" fontsize:10
from: 29/10/1939 till: 30/04/1946 color:governor text:"Governor's rule" fontsize:10
from: 30/04/1946 till: 23/03/1947 color:congress text:"T. Prakasam" fontsize:10
from: 23/03/1947 till: 06/04/1949 color:congress text:"Omanthur P. Ramaswamy Reddiar" fontsize:10
from: 06/04/1949 till: 26/01/1950 color:congress text:"P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja" fontsize:10
Chief Ministers of Madras State
, precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after India became a republic on 26 January 1950. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The first legislature of the Madras State to be elected on the basis of universal suffrage was constituted on 1 March 1952, after the general elections held in January 1952.The state was split up along linguistic lines in 1953, carving out Andhra State. Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the States of Kerala, and Mysore were carved out of Madras state. Under the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act, 1959, with effect from 1 April 1960, Tirutani taluk and Pallipattu sub-taluk of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh were transferred to Madras in exchange for territories from the Chingelput and Salem districts.
;Colour key for party of the chief ministers
- Assassinated or died in office
- Resigned
Timeline
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from: 27/01/1950 till: 09/04/1952 color:congress text:"P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja" fontsize:10
from: 10/04/1952 till: 13/04/1954 color:congress text:"C. Rajagopalachari" fontsize:10
from: 13/04/1954 till: 02/10/1963 color:congress text:"K. Kamaraj" fontsize:10
from: 02/10/1963 till: 28/02/1967 color:congress text:"M. Bhakthavatsalam" fontsize:10
from: 06/03/1967 till: 13/01/1969 color:dmk text:"C. N. Annadurai" fontsize:10
Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu
was renamed as Tamil Nadu on 14 January 1969. The legislative assembly adopted a resolution on 14 May 1986, to abolish the legislative council. Thereafter, the legislative council was abolished through an act of Parliament named the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council Act, 1986 with effect from 1 November 1986. The state legislature is unicameral, and consists of 235 members including one nominated member.The chief minister commands most of the executive powers while the governor has a largely ceremonial role. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu, like other chief ministers of India, is elected by legislators of the political party or the coalition which commands a simple majority in the legislative assembly. The tenure of the chief minister extends as long as he or she enjoys the confidence of the assembly. The incumbent shall vacate the office in the event of a successful motion of no confidence. Also, the President of India, acting under the recommendations of the cabinet of ministers of the Government of India, can dismiss an elected government using certain provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution of India. In 1976, M. Karunanidhi's government was dismissed and president's rule was imposed on the grounds of corruption. If a vacancy is caused to the office of the chief minister due to death, demitting, or dismissal, the governor can invite another person to form the government and request him or her to move a confidence-seeking motion in the assembly. In the event of no one enjoying majority support, the assembly is either dissolved or put in suspended animation and the state comes under president's rule or a caretaker government until fresh elections are held for the assembly. The incumbent shall be disqualified if convicted of a criminal offence with a jail sentence of two years or more. In 2014, J. Jayalalithaa lost her post due to a special court sentencing her to four years of prison term in the disproportionate assets case.
;Colour key for party of the chief ministers
- Assassinated or died in office
- Resigned
Timeline
List of Chief Ministers by length of tenure
| Name | Party | Length of term | Length of term | |
| Name | Party | Longest continuous term | Total days of premiership | |
| 1 | M. G. Ramachandran | AIADMK | 3629 days | 3629 days |
| 2 | K. Kamaraj | INC | 3432 days | 3432 days |
| 3 | M. Karunanidhi | DMK | 1828 days | 6863 days |
| 4 | J. Jayalalithaa | AIADMK | 1784 days | 5238 days |
| 5 | Edappadi K. Palaniswami | AIADMK | days | days |
| 6 | M. Bhakthavatsalam | INC | 1245 days | 1245 days |
| 7 | P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja | INC | 805 days | 805 days |
| 8 | C. Rajagopalachari | INC | 733 days | 733 days |
| 9 | C. N. Annadurai | DMK | 700 days | 700 days |
| 10 | O. Panneerselvam | AIADMK | 235 days | 466 days |
| 11 | V. N. Janaki Ramachandran | AIADMK | 23 days | 23 days |
List of Chief Ministers by party
Following is the summary of hold of Chief Minister's office by members of Indian political parties. The data to some extent may not reflect latest accurate set of informations as the length of term for ruling party will continue to change everyday and may be updated periodically only. The displayed data is as of.| Political party | Number of Chief Ministers | Total days of holding CM Office | |
| 1 | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 5 | days |
| 2 | Indian National Congress | 6 | 8425 days |
| 3 | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 2 | 7568 days |
| 4 | South Indian Liberal Federation | 5 | 4497 days |
| 5 | Unaffiliated | 2 | 1527 days |
Parties by number of their members served as Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers
Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Office
Living former Chief Ministers
As of, there is only one living former Chief minister of Tamil Nadu| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Date of birth |
| O. Panneerselvam | 22 September 2001 – 1 March 2002, 29 September 2014 – 22 May 2015, 6 December 2016 – 15 February 2017 |
Records
- M. G. Ramachandran was the chief minister with the longest tenure ignoring an intervening president's rule from 17 February 1980 to 9 June 1980. His terms lasted for 10 years, 5 months and 25 days from 30 June 1977 until his death on 24 December 1987.
- K. Kamaraj was the chief minister with the longest tenure without intervening president's rule. His terms lasted from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963, i.e., 9 years, 5 months and 19 days.
- C. Rajagopalachari became the first chief minister in India to receive the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna.
- C. Rajagopalachari was the oldest chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
- C. Rajagopalachari, K. Kamaraj and M. G. Ramachandran are the chief ministers from the state of Tamil Nadu to receive Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the Republic of India.
- C. N. Annadurai became the first chief minister of Tamil Nadu to die in office on 3 February 1969.
- M. G. Ramachandran became the first actor-turned chief minister in India.
- V. N. Janaki Ramachandran became the first woman chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
- V. N. Janaki Ramachandran became the first actress-turned chief minister in India.
- The shortest period is by V. N. Janaki Ramachandran who held office only for 23 days.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the first woman leader of opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the first woman chief minister of Tamil Nadu by winning legislative assembly election in 1991.
- J. Jayalalithaa was the youngest chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the first actress-turned chief minister in India by winning legislative assembly election.
- J. Jayalalithaa holds a record by being sworn as chief minister six times, followed by Karunanidhi who sworn five times.
- J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi were the chief ministers from the state of Tamil Nadu protected with Z+ Security.
- On 21 September 2001, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the appointment of J. Jayalalithaa as chief minister on 14 May 2001 was invalid, with retrospective effect. Therefore, technically, decisions of her cabinet during the period May–September 2001 in effect became legal fiction.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the first incumbent chief minister to lose her post in a graft case when a special court sentenced her to four years of prison term on 27 September 2014. The sentence was subsequently overturned by the Karnataka High Court which acquitted J. Jayalalithaa of all charges and that allowed her to return to the post for a fourth term.
- M. Karunanidhi had been in the office as chief minister for 6,863 days in multiple tenures. Also was the only chief minister holding posts at different occasions spanning six decades starting from 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the first woman chief minister of Tamil Nadu to win the legislative assembly election consecutively 2 times.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the first woman chief minister in India to die in office on 5 December 2016. She was the seventeenth chief minister to die in office in India and the third in Tamil Nadu, after C. N. Annadurai and M. G. Ramachandran.
- J. Jayalalithaa became the longest served woman chief minister of Tamil Nadu in multiple tenures.
- K. Kamaraj was the first and only chief minister in Tamil Nadu to get honored posthumously by changing the name of suburban railway station after him that is Maraimalai Nagar railway station renamed as Maraimalai Nagar Kamarajar Railway Station.
- M. G. Ramachandran was the first and only chief minister in Tamil Nadu to get honored posthumously by changing the name of iconic railway station after him that is Chennai Central railway station renamed as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station.
- C. Rajagopalachari was the only former chief minister of Tamil Nadu to have his portrait installed posthumously in the central hall of the Parliament of India
- K. Kamaraj, C. N. Annadurai and M. G. Ramachandran were the former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu to have their life-size statue unveiled posthumously in the Parliament of India.
- C. Rajagopalachari, K. Kamaraj, C. N. Annadurai, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa were the former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu to have their portraits installed posthumously in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
- C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa and Edappadi K. Palaniswami were the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu received Honorary Doctorate from various universities of Tamil Nadu.