Governor of West Bengal
Emblem of West Bengal
Incumbent
C. V. Ananda Bose
since 23 November 2022 (2022-11-23)
StyleThe Honourable (formal)
Mr. Governor (informal)
His/Her Excellency
StatusHead of state
AbbreviationGoWB
Residence
AppointerPresident of India
Term lengthFive years (renewable)
PrecursorGovernor-General of India
Inaugural holderChakravarthi Rajagopalachari
Formation15 August 1947 (1947-08-15)
Salary₹350,000 (US$4,400) (per month)
Websiterajbhavankolkata.nic.in

The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of West Bengal and a representative of the President of India. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. His official residence is the Raj Bhavan. C. V. Ananda Bose was appointed as the current governor of West Bengal on 23 November 2022.[1]

History

In 1911 the imperial capital of India was moved from Calcutta to Delhi and as some compensation to Bengal the lieutenant governor with council gave place to a governor with a council thus completing the circle and reverting to the position which had been obtained 200 years ago. In 1947 India achieved independence and the title of Governor of Bengal remained.

Powers and functions

The governor enjoys many different types of powers:

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

Ex officio role of governor

In his ex officio capacity, the governor of West Bengal is Chancellor of the universities of West Bengal (at present 16) as per the Acts of the Universities. The Universities are: University of Calcutta; Jadavpur University; Presidency University, Kolkata; University of Kalyani; Rabindra Bharati University; Vidyasagar University; University of Burdwan; North Bengal University; Netaji Subhas Open University; Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology; Aliah University; Bankura University; Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University; Diamond Harbour Women's University; University of Gour Banga; Kazi Nazrul University; Raiganj University; Sidho Kanho Birsha University; Sanskrit College and University; West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Education Planning and Administration; Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya; Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya; West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences; West Bengal University of Health Sciences and West Bengal State University. For Visva Bharati, the governor is the Pradhana (Rector).

The governor is also the chairman or president of some organizations, such as Victoria Memorial Hall, Indian Museum, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), Calcutta Cultural Centre (Kolkata Kala Kendra), Special Fund for R&R of Ex-servicemen, West Bengal Rajya Sainik Board, Sri Aurobindo Samiti, Indian Red Cross Society - West Bengal State Branch, St. John Ambulance Brigade No. II (West Bengal) District, Bharat Scouts and Guides and the Bengal Tuberculosis Association.

Governor of West Bengal’s Welfare Fund, has the governor as its chairman. Contributions from this fund are given to the needy people for meeting, to some extent the cost of their treatment. Besides the above, at his discretion, the governor, accepts the position of Chief Patron/Patron or other posts in the honorary capacity, in various organizations that are rendering yeoman service to the society in different fields.

1935–1947 – Governors of the Province of Bengal

Name Portrait Took office Left office Appointer
The Lord Brabourne 30 May 1937 23 February 1939 The Marquess of Linlithgow
Sir John Arthur Herbert 1 July 1939 1 December 1943
The Lord Casey 14 January 1944 19 February 1946 The Viscount Wavell
Sir Frederick John Burrows 19 February 1946 15 August 1947

List of governors

No. Portrait Name Took office Left office Duration
1 Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari 15 August 1947 21 June 1948 311 days
2 Kailash Nath Katju 21 June 1948 1 November 1951 3 years, 133 days
3  – Harendra Coomar Mookerjee 1 November 1951 8 August 1956 4 years, 281 days
–  – Phani Bhusan Chakravartti (acting) 8 August 1956 3 November 1956 87 days
4  – Padmaja Naidu 3 November 1956 1 June 1967 10 years, 210 days
5 Dharma Vira 1 June 1967 1 April 1969 1 year, 304 days
–  – Deep Narayan Sinha (acting) 1 April 1969 19 September 1969 171 days
6  – Shanti Swaroop Dhavan 19 September 1969 21 August 1971 1 year, 336 days
7 Anthony Lancelot Dias 21 August 1971 6 November 1979 8 years, 77 days
8  – Tribhuvana Narayana Singh 6 November 1979 12 September 1981 1 year, 310 days
9  – Bhairab Dutt Pande 12 September 1981 10 October 1983 2 years, 28 days
10  – Anant Prasad Sharma 10 October 1983 16 August 1984 320 days
—  – Satish Chandra (acting) 16 August 1984 1 October 1984 46 days
11  – Uma Shankar Dikshit 1 October 1984 12 August 1986 1 year, 315 days
12 Saiyid Nurul Hasan 12 August 1986 20 March 1989 2 years, 220 days
13 T. V. Rajeswar 20 March 1989 7 February 1990 324 days
(12) Saiyid Nurul Hasan 7 February 1990 12 July 1993 3 years, 155 days
–  – B. Satyanarayan Reddy (additional charge) 13 July 1993 14 August 1993 32 days
14 K. V. Raghunatha Reddy 14 August 1993 27 April 1998 4 years, 256 days
15 Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai 27 April 1998 18 May 1999 1 year, 21 days
16 Shyamal Kumar Sen 18 May 1999 4 December 1999 200 days
17 Viren J. Shah 4 December 1999 14 December 2004 5 years, 10 days
18 Gopalkrishna Gandhi 14 December 2004 14 December 2009 5 years, 0 days
– Devanand Konwar (additional charge) 14 December 2009 23 January 2010 40 days
19 M.K. Narayanan 24 January 2010 30 June 2014 4 years, 157 days
— D. Y. Patil (additional charge)[2] 3 July 2014 17 July 2014 14 days
20 Keshari Nath Tripathi 24 July 2014 29 July 2019 5 years, 5 days
21 Jagdeep Dhankhar[3] 30 July 2019 17 July 2022 2 years, 352 days
— La. Ganesan (additional charge) 18 July 2022 22 November 2022 127 days
22 C. V. Ananda Bose 23 November 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 54 days

See also

References

  1. ↑ Singh, Shiv Sahay (23 November 2022). "C.V. Ananda Bose sworn in as West Bengal Governor". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Dr D Y Patil appointed West Bengal's acting Governor". The Economic Times. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "Senior Advocate Jagdeep Dhankhar Made West Bengal Governor". www.livelaw.in. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
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