Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers
The Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers is the executive wing of Government of Tamil Nadu and headed by State Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisamy who is the real head of government and leader of the state cabinet. The current state council of ministers was sworn-in 23 May 2016, after 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. The term of every executive wing is for 5 years. The council of ministers are assisted by department secretaries attached to each ministry who are from IAS Tamil Nadu cadre. The chief executive officer responsible for issuing orders on behalf of Government is Chief Secretary to the State Government.
The current Chief Secretary is Thiru K. Shanmugam IAS
Constitutional requirement
For the Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor
According to of the Indian Constitution,This means that the Ministers serve under the pleasure of the Governor and he/she may remove them, on the advice of the Chief Minister, whenever they want.
For other provisions as to Ministers
According to of the Indian Constitution,Chief Minister
Like any Indian state, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the real head of the government and responsible for state administration. He is the leader of the parliamentary party in the legislature and heads the state cabinet. The current Chief Minister is Edappadi K. Palanisamy.Deputy Chief Minister
Like any state, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the deputy head of the government and senior minister of cabinet after the Chief Minister and mostly the position was vacant. The current Deputy Chief Minister is Panneerselvam.OState Cabinet
As per Indian Constitution, all portfolios of state government is vested in Chief Minister, who distribute various portfolio to individual ministers whom he nominates to the State Governor. The state governor appoints individual ministers for various portfolios and departments as per advice of Chief Minister and together form the State Cabinet. As the original portfolios are vested with CM, who delegates to others upon his/her wish, actions of individual ministers are part of collective responsibility of the state cabinet and Chief Minister is responsible for actions of each minister. The state cabinet along with Chief Minister, prepares General policy and individual department policy, which will be guiding policy for day-to-day administration of each minister.Fifteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 2017 – Council of Ministers
Edappadi K. Palaniswami ministry
Source: Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly website| Sl. No | Name | Photos | Designation | Portfolios |
| 1. | Edappadi K. Palaniswami | Chief Minister | Public, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, General Administration, District Revenue Officers, Police and Home, Public Works, Irrigation including Minor Irrigation, Programme Works, Highways and Minor Ports | |
| 2. | O. Panneerselvam | Deputy Chief Minister | Finance, Planning, Legislative Assembly, Elections and Passports, Housing, Rural Housing and Housing Development, Slum Clearance Board and Accommodation Control, Town Planning, Urban Development and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority | |
| 3 | Dindigul C. Sreenivasan | Minister for Forests | Forests | |
| 4. | K. A. Sengottaiyan | Minister for School Education,Youth welfare and Sports Development | School Education,Youth welfare and Sports Development | |
| 5 | Sellur K. Raju | Minister for Co-operation | Co-operation, Statistics and Ex-Servicemen Welfare | |
| 6. | P. Thangamani | Minister for Electricity, Minister for Prohibition and Excise | Electricity, Non-Conventional Energy Development, Prohibition and Excise, Molasses and Prevention of Corruption Act | |
| 7. | S. P. Velumani | Minister for Municipal Administration, Minister for Rural Development and Implementation of Special Programme | Municipal Administration, Rural Development, Panchayats and Panchayat Unions, Poverty Alleviation Programmes, Rural Indebtedness, Urban and Rural Water Supply, Implementation of Special Programme | |
| 8. | D. Jayakumar | Minister for Fisheries Minister for Personnel and Administrative Reforms | Fisheries and Fisheries Development Corporation Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Personnel and Administrative Reforms | |
| 9. | C. Ve. Shanmugam | Minister for Law, Courts and Prisons, Minister for Mines and Minerals | Law, Courts and Prisons, Mines and Minerals | |
| 10. | K. P. Anbalagan | Minister for Higher Education | Higher Education including Technical Education, Electronics, Science and Technology | |
| 11. | V. Saroja | Minister for Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme | Social Welfare including Women's and Children's Welfare, Orphanages and Correctional Administration, Integrated Child Development and Beggar Homes, Welfare of the Differently Abled and Social Reforms and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme | |
| 12. | M. C. Sampath | Minister for Industries, Steel Control and Special Initiatives | Industries, Steel Control and Special Initiatives | |
| 13. | K. C. Karuppannan | Minister for Environment | Environment and Pollution Control | |
| 14. | R. Kamaraj | Minister for Food and Civil Supplies | Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection and Price Control.. | |
| 15. | O. S. Manian | Minister for Handlooms and Textiles | Handlooms and Textiles | |
| 16. | Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan | Minister for Animal Husbandry | Animal Husbandry | |
| 17. | C. Vijaya Baskar | Minister for Health and Family Welfare | Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare | |
| 18. | R. Doraikkannu | Minister for Agriculture | Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Agro Service Cooperatives, Horticulture, Sugarcane Cess, Sugarcane Development and Waste Land Development | |
| 19. | Kadambur Raju | Minister for Information and Publicity | Information and Publicity Film Technology and Cinematograph Act, Stationery and Printing and Government Press | |
| 20. | R. B. Udhayakumar | Minister for Revenue and | Revenue, District Revenue Establishment, Deputy Collectors, Weights and Measures, Debt Relief including Legislation on Money lending, Chits, Registration of Companies, Disaster Management | |
| 21. | Vellamandi N. Natarajan | Minister for Tourism | Tourism, Tourism Development Corporation | |
| 22. | K. C. Veeramani | Minister for Commercial Taxes | Commercial Taxes, Registration and Stamp Act | |
| 23. | K. T. Rajenthra Bhalaji | Minister for Milk and Dairy Development | Milk and Dairy Development | |
| 24. | P. Benjamin | Minister for Rural Industries | Rural Industries including Cottage Industries, Small Industries | |
| 25. | M. R. Vijayabhaskar | Minister for Transport | Transport, Nationalised Transport and Motor Vehicles Act | |
| 26. | Nilofer Kafeel | Minister for Labour | Labour, Population, Employment and Training, Newsprint Control, Census and Urban and Rural Employment and Wakf Board | |
| 28. | V. M. Rajalakshmi | Minister for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare | Adi Dravidar Welfare, Hill Tribes and Bonded Labour | |
| 29. | K. Pandiarajan | Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture | Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture and Archaeology | |
| 30. | G. Baskaran | Minister for Khadi and Village Industries Board | Khadi and Village Industries Board, Bhoodhan and Gramadhan | |
| 31. | Sevvoor S. Ramachandran | Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments | Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments | |
| 32. | S. Valarmathi | Minister for Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare | Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Denotified Communities, Overseas Indians, Refugees and Evacuees and Minorities Welfare |
Fourteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 2011 – Council of Ministers
Jayalalithaa ministry
Source: Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly website3 July 2011
- E. Subaya
22 October 2011
- C. Karuppasamy
4 November 2011
- C. Shanmugavelu
- R. B. Udhaya Kumar
- S. P. Shanmuganathan
- N. R. Sivapathi
- G. Senthamizhan
- Budhichandhiran
9 December 2011
- M. Paranjothi
- Selvi Ramajayam
26 January 2012
- Agri S. S. Krishnamoorthy
- S. P. Velumani
18 July 2012
- K. A. Sengottaiyan
6 October 2013
- C. V. Shanmugam
8 February 2013
- S. Gokula Indira
- N. R. Sivapathi
- V. S. Vijay
Thirteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 2006 – Council of Ministers
Karunanidhi ministry
Source: Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly website| Sl.No | Department | Minister |
| 1 | Chief Minister | M. Karunanidhi |
| 2 | Deputy Chief Minister | M. K. Stalin |
| 3 | Finance | K. Anbazhagan |
| 4 | Electricity | Arcot N. Veeraswami |
| 5 | Cooperation, Statistics and Ex-Servicemen | Ko. Si. Mani |
| 6 | Agriculture | Veerapandi S. Arumugam |
| 7 | Public works and Law | Durai Murugan |
| 8 | Higher Education | K. Ponmudy |
| 9 | Transport | K. N. Nehru |
| 10 | Health | M. R. K. Paneerselvam |
| 11 | Rural Industries and Animal Husbandry | Pongalur N. Palanisamy |
| 12 | Revenue and Housing | I. Periasami |
| 13 | Tourism and Registration | N. Suresh Rajan |
| 14 | Information | Parithi Ilamvazhuthi |
| 15 | Food | E. V. Velu |
| 16 | Slum clearance and Accommodation | Suba Thangavelan |
| 17 | Backward Classes | K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran |
| 18 | Labour | T. M. Anbarasan |
| 19 | Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments | K. R. Periyakaruppan |
| 20 | School Education | Thangam Thennarasu |
| 21 | Commercial Taxes | S. N. M Ubayadullah |
| 22 | Environment | T. P. M. Mohideen Khan |
| 23 | Forests | N. Selvaraj |
| 24 | Highways | Vellakoil Saminathan |
| 25 | Information Technology | Poongothai Aladi Aruna |
| 26 | Social Welfare | Geetha Jeevan |
| 27 | Adi-Dravidar welfare | Tamilarasi |
| 28 | Fisheries | K. P. P. Samy |
| 29 | Dairy Development | U. Mathivanan |
| 30 | Khadi | K. Ramachandran |
Twelfth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 2001 – Council of Ministers
O. Panneerselvam & Jayalalithaa ministry
Source: Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly website| Sl.No | Department | Minister |
| 1 | Chief Minister | J. Jayalalithaa O. Panneerselvam |
| 2 | Deputy Chief Minister | None |
| 3 | Finance and Law | C. Ponnaiyan |
| 4 | Public Accounts | S.R. Balasubramoniyan |
| 5 | Public Undertakings | R. Jeevanantham M.C. Sampath |
Eleventh Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 1996 – Council of Ministers
Karunanidhi ministry
13 May 1996
| Minister Name | Portfolio | Departments and Works Allotted |
| M. Karunanidhi | Chief Minister | Public, Home, Tamil Nadu Police, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, General Administration, District Revenue Officers, General Administration, Finance, Industries, Prohibition and Excise, Commercial Taxes, Planning |
| K. Anbazhagan | Minister for Education, M | Higher Education, Technical Education, Electronics, Science and Technology, Youth Welfare and Sports, Legislative Assembly, Elections and Passports, Ex- Servicemen's Welfare |
| Arcot N. Veeraswami | Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Electricity | Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare and Electricity |
| Nanjil K. Manoharan | Minister for Revenue | Revenue, Board of Revenue, District Revenue Establishment and Deputy Collector |
| Ko. Si. Mani | Minister for Rural Development Development and Local Administration | Municipal Administration, Community Development, Panchayats, Panchayat Unions and Rural Indebtedness and Urban and Rural Water Supply |
| Veerapandy S. Arumugam | Minister for Agriculture M | Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Agro Service Cooperatives, Horticulture, Sugarcane Cess and Sugarcane Development |
| Durai Murugan | Minister for Public Works, M | Public Works, Irrigation including Minor Irrigation and Programme Work |
| Dr. Ponmudi Deivasigamani | Minister for Transport, M | Transport, Nationalised Transport, Motor Vehicles Act, Ports & Highways and Madras Metropolitan Development Authority |
| M. Tamilkudimagan | Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture M | Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture |
| K. N. Nehru | Minister for Food and Public Distribution System System, M | Food, Price Control & Civil Supplies and Public Distribution System |
| K Sundaram | Minister for Milk M | Milk and Dairy Development, Slum Clearance and Accommodation Control |