List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry


is a Union Territory of India. Governance and administration of the territory fall directly under federal authority. Along with Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry is one of the three union territories in India that is entitled by special constitutional amendments to have an elected legislative assembly and a cabinet of ministers, thereby enjoying partial statehood powers.

Chief Commissioner (1954-1963)

After de-facto transfer of French settlements in India on November 1 1954, Chief Commissioner appointed by Government of India had replaced the last Commissioner of French India, Georges Escargueil. The first High Commissioner, Kewal Singh was appointed immediately after the Kizhoor referendum on 21 October 1954 as per Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947. The Chief Commissioner has the powers of the former French commissioner, but is under the direct control of the Union Government.
The list of Chief Commissioners is given below
NameTook officeLeft office
121 October 195416 November 1956
217 November 195627 August 1958
330 August 195808 February 1961
402 May 196101 August 1963
502 August 196313 October 1963

Lieutenant Governor

The Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry resides at the Raj Nivas at the Nehru Park, the former palace of the Governor General of French India. The Central government is more directly involved in the financial well-being of the territory.
After de-jure transfer in 1962, State of Pondicherry is fully and legally integrated into Indian Union. Since, formation of Union territory in July 1 1963, Lieutenant Governor has replaced High Commissioner in Pondicherry.
Only five Lt. Governors managed to serve more than four years. They are S.L. Silam, B.D.Jatti, B.T.Kulkarni, Rajani Rai and Kiran Bedi. Only S.L. Silam completed his 5-year term. The list of Lt. Governors of Puducherry is given below
NameTook officeLeft officeDuration
114 Oct 196313 Oct 1968
214 Oct 19687 Nov 1972
38 Nov 197229 Aug 1976
430 Aug 197631 Oct 1980
51 Nov 198015 Apr 1981
-16 Apr 198126 Jul 1981
627 Jul 198114 May 1982
715 May 19825 Aug 1983
82 Sep 198317 Jun 1984
-18 Jun 198430 Sep 1984
91 Oct 198421 Jun 1988
1022 Jun 198819 Feb 1990
1119 Feb 199018 Dec 1990
1219 Dec 199005 Feb 1993
-06 Feb 19931 May 1995
-31 May 19931 May 1995
132 May 199522 Apr 1998
1423 Apr 199829 Jul 2002
1531 Jul 200227 Oct 2003
1627 Oct 20035 Jan 2004
175 Jan 20046 Jul 2004
187 Jul 200418 Jul 2006
1919 Jul 200612 Mar 2008
2015 Mar 200822 Jul 2008
2123 Jul 20086 Apr 2009
229 Apr 200927 Jul 2009
2327 Jul 20099 Jul 2013
2410 Jul 201311 Jul 2014
2512 Jul 201426 May 2016
2628 May 2016

Notes: