Are you looking for details of the current and former governors of Kerala? This post has a complete list of Kerala governors along with their term of office. We have also included an FAQ section with answers to some of the commonly asked questions, such as the names of the first and the present Kerala governors, the first women governor, etc.
Like in the rest of Indian states, Kerala state governors are also appointed by the President of India, and their term of office is normally 5 years.
Summary
Governors Of Kerala – An Overview
Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was the first governor of Kerala and he took office shortly after the state was formed in 1956. The current Kerala governor is Arif Mohammad Khan. V.V. Giri, V. Viswanathan, Jothi Venkatachalam, Sukhdev Singh Kang, R.L Bhatia, P. Ramachandran, etc. are among the other notable governors of Kerala.
As of 2021, the total number of governors of Kerala is 22, excluding those who handled the additional charge of the state following the absence or death of the governor in office. Jothi Venkatachalam, Ram Dulari Sinha, and Sheila Dikshit were the three women governors of Kerala.
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Full List Of Governors Of Kerala Since 1956
Check out the complete list of governors of Kerala. The list also includes the names of Chief Ministers during the tenure of a governor and the names and details of governors who handled the additional charge of Kerala.
| Sl. No | Name | Period | Chief Minister |
| Acting Governor | P.S. Rao (Acting) | 1 November 1956 to 21 November 1956 | The acting governor during the state formation |
| 1 | Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao | 22 November 1956 to 1 July 1960 | E. M. S. Namboodiripad Pattom A. Thanu Pillai |
| 2 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri (V.V. Giri) | 1 July 1960 to 2 April 1965 | Pattom A. Thanu Pillai R. Sankar |
| 3 | Ajit Prasad Jain | 2 April 1965 to 6 February 1966 | President’s Rule |
| 4 | Bhagwan Sahay | 6 February 1966 to 15 May 1967 | President’s Rule E. M. S. Namboodiripad |
| 5 | Venkata Viswanathan (V. Viswanathan) | 15 May 1967 to 1 April 1973 | E. M. S. Namboodiripad C. Achutha Menon |
| 6 | Niranjan Nath Wanchoo (N.N Wanchoo) | 1 April 1973 to 10 October 1977 | C. Achutha Menon K. Karunakaran A. K. Antony |
| 7 | Jothi Venkatachalam | 14 October 1977 to 26 October 1982 | A.K. Antony P. K. Vasudevan Nair C. H. Mohammed Koya E. K. Nayanar K. Karunakaran |
| 8 | P. Ramachandran | 27 October 1982 to 23 February 1988 | K. Karunakaran E. K. Nayanar |
| 9 | Ram Dulari Sinha | 23 February 1988 to 12 February 1990 | E.K.Nayanar |
| 10 | Dr. Swaroop Singh | 12 February 1990 to 20 November 1990 | E.K.Nayanar |
| 11 | Basavayya Rachaiah (B. Rachaiah) | 20 December 1990 to 9 November 1995 | E.K.Nayanar K. Karunakaran A. K. Antony |
| Additional charge | Gopal Ramanujam | 20 April 1995 to 29 April 1995 | |
| 12 | Punjala Shiv Shankar (P. Shiv Shankar) | 12 November 1995 to 1 May 1996 | A. K. Antony |
| 13 | Khurshed Alam Khan | 5 May 1996 to 25 January 1997 | A.K.Antony E.K.Nayanar |
| 14 | Sukhdev Singh Kang | 25 January 1997 to 18 April 2002 | E.K.Nayanar A.K.Antony |
| Additional charge | Dr. C Rangarajan (In the absence of Sukhdev Singh Kang) | 29 February 2000 to 23 April 2000 19 October 2000 to 7 November 2000 16 February 2002 to 28 February 2002 | |
| Additional charge | Mohammed Fazal (In the absence of Sukhdev Singh Kang) | 14 September 2001 to 28 September 2001 | |
| 15 | Sikander Bakht | 18 April 2002 to 23 February 2004 | A.K.Antony |
| Additional charge | Triloki Nath Chaturvedi (Following the death of Sikander Bakht) | 25 February 2004 to 23 June 2004 | A.K.Antony |
| 16 | Raghunandan Lal Bhatia (R.L Bhatia) | 23 June 2004 to 10 July 2008 | A. K. Antony Oommen Chandy V. S. Achuthanandan |
| 17 | Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai (R.S. Gavai) | 11 July 2008 to 7 September 2011 | V.S. Achuthanandan Oommen Chandy |
| 18 | M. O. Hasan Farook Maricar | 8 September 2011 to 26 January 2012 | Oommen Chandy |
| Additional charge | Hansraj Bhardwaj (Following the death of M. O. Hasan Farook Maricar) | 1 March 2012 to 9 March 2013 | Oommen Chandy |
| 19 | Nikhil Kumar | 23 March 2013 to 5 March 2014 | Oommen Chandy |
| 20 | Sheila Dikshit | 11 March 2014 to 4 September 2014 | Oommen Chandy |
| 21 | Justice P. Sathasivam | 5 September 2014 to 5 September 2019 | Oommen Chandy Pinarayi Vijayan |
| 22 | Arif Mohammad Khan | 6 September 2019 to Continuing | Pinarayi Vijayan |
FAQs On Kerala Governors
Know answers to all the questions about Governors of Kerala.
Who was the first governor of Kerala?
Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was the first governor of Kerala.
Who is the present Kerala governor?
Arif Mohammad Khan is the current governor of Kerala?
Who was the first women governor of Kerala?
Jothi Venkatachalam was the first women governor of Kerala.
How many women governors did Kerala have?
Three – Jothi Venkatachalam, Ram Dulari Sinha, and Sheila Dikshit.
Who was the first Malayali to become the governor of Kerala?
Venkata Viswanathan aka V. Viswanathan was the first Malayali governor of Kerala. He was born in Palakkad in 1909, which was then part of the Madras Presidency.
Who was the first former Chief Justice of India to be appointed as a state’s governor?
Justice P. Sathasivam, the 21st Kerala governor, is the first former Chief Justice of India to be appointed as a state governor.
How many Kerala governors died in office?
Two. Sikander Bakht was the first Kerala governor to die in office. He died at the age of 85 from the complications of a surgery. The second governor who died in office was M.O.H. Farook, who died of multiple myeloma, aged 74.
Who is the shortest-serving governor of Kerala?
M. O. Hasan Farook Maricar, popularly known as M.O.H. Farook, is the shortest-serving governor of Kerala. He held office from 08-09-2011 to 26-01-2012 – around 141 days.
Source: kerala.gov.in
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