List of governors of Bihar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Governor of Bihar is the nominal head of the Indian state of Bihar. The governor is appointed by the President of India. Syed Ata Hasnain is the current governor of Bihar. Former President Zakir Husain and Ram Nath Kovind were two such governors of Bihar who succeeded on to become the President of India. Zakir Hussain was earlier succeeded to become the Vice President of India.
AppointerPresident of India
| Governor of Bihar | |
|---|---|
| |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Residence | Lok Bhavan, Patna, Bihar |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | At the pleasure of the president |
| Precursor | Governor of Bihar and Orissa |
| Website | governor |
Powers and functions
The governor has:
- 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.
In his ex-officio capacity, the governor of Bihar is chancellor of the universities of Bihar (at present 12) as per the Acts of the Universities.
List
1936–1947
| # | Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James David Sifton | 1 April 1936 | 10 March 1937 |
| 2 | Maurice Garnier Hallett | 11 March 1937 | 15 May 1938 |
| 3 | Thomas Alexander Stewart | 15 May 1938 | 16 September 1938 |
| 4 | Maurice Garnier Hallett | 17 September 1938 | 5 August 1939 |
| 5 | Thomas Alexander Stewart | 6 August 1939 | 2 February 1943 |
| 6 | Thomas George Rutherford | 3 February 1943 | 6 September 1943 |
| 7 | Francis Mudie | 7 September 1943 | 23 April 1944 |
| 8 | Thomas George Rutherford | 24 April 1944 | 12 May 1946 |
| 9 | Hugh Dow | 13 May 1946 | 14 August 1947 |
Since 1947
- Legend
- Color key
- indicates acting/additional charge
| # | Portrait | Name (born – died) |
Home state | Tenure in office | Appointer (President) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | .jpg) |
Jairamdas Daulatram (1891–1979 |
Maharashtra | 15 August 1947 |
11 January 1948 |
149 days | Lord Mountbatten (Governor-General) |
| 2 |  |
Madhav Shrihari Aney (1880–1968) |
Maharashtra | 12 January 1948 |
14 June 1952 |
4 years, 154 days | |
| 3 |  |
R. R. Diwakar (1894–1990) |
Karnataka | 15 June 1952 |
5 July 1957 |
5 years, 20 days | Rajendra Prasad |
| 4 | .jpg) |
Zakir Husain (1897–1969) |
Andhra Pradesh | 6 July 1957 |
11 May 1962[‡][α] |
4 years, 309 days | |
| 5 |  |
M. A. Ayyangar (1891–1978) |
Andhra Pradesh | 12 May 1962 |
6 December 1967 |
5 years, 208 days | |
| 6 |  |
Nityanand Kanungo (1900–1988) |
Orissa | 7 December 1967 |
20 January 1971 |
3 years, 44 days | Zakir Husain |
| 7 |  |
Justice Ujjal Narayan Sinha Chief Justice, Patna High Court (Acting) |
Bihar | 21 January 1971 |
31 January 1971 |
10 days | V. V. Giri |
| 8 |  |
Dev Kant Barooah (1914–1996) |
Assam | 1 February 1971 |
4 February 1973 |
2 years, 3 days | |
| 9 |  |
Ramchandra Dhondiba Bhandare (1916–1988) |
Maharashtra | 4 February 1973 |
15 June 1976[§][β] |
3 years, 132 days | |
| 10 |  |
Jagannath Kaushal (1915–2001) |
Chandigarh | 16 June 1976 |
31 January 1979 |
2 years, 229 days | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed |
| 11 | |
Justice Krishna Ballabh Narayan Singh (1922–1999) Chief Justice, Patna High Court (Acting) |
Bihar | 31 January 1979 |
19 September 1979 |
231 days | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy |
| 12 | .jpg) |
Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai (1921–2016) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 20 September 1979 |
15 March 1985 |
5 years, 176 days | |
| 13 |  |
Pendekanti Venkatasubbaiah (1921–1983) |
Andhra Pradesh | 15 March 1985 |
25 February 1988[§][γ] |
2 years, 347 days | Zail Singh |
| 14 |  |
Govind Narayan Singh (1920–2005) |
Madhya Pradesh | 26 February 1988 |
24 January 1989[‡] |
333 days | Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
| 15 | |
Justice Dipak Kumar Sen (born 1927) Chief Justice, Patna High Court (Acting) |
West Bengal | 24 January 1989 |
28 January 1989 |
4 days | |
| 16 |  |
R. D. Pradhan IAS (Retd) (1928–2020) Governor of Arunachal Pradesh (Additional Charge) |
Maharashtra | 29 January 1989 |
2 March 1989 |
32 days | |
| 17 |  |
Jagannath Pahadia (1932–2021) |
Rajasthan | 3 March 1989 |
2 February 1990[‡] |
336 days | |
| 18 | |
Justice Gangadhar Ganesh Sohani Chief Justice, Patna High Court (Acting) |
Madhya Pradesh | 2 February 1990 |
16 February 1990 |
14 days | |
| 19 |  |
Mohammad Yunus Saleem (1912–2004) |
Uttar Pradesh | 16 February 1990 |
14 February 1991 |
363 days | |
| 20 |  |
B. Satya Narayan Reddy (1927–2012) Governor of Uttar Pradesh (Additional Charge) |
Andhra Pradesh | 14 February 1991 |
18 March 1991 |
32 days | |
| 21 | .jpg) |
Mohammad Shafi Qureshi (1928–2016) |
Jammu and Kashmir | 19 March 1991 |
13 August 1993[§][δ] |
2 years, 147 days | |
| (12) | |
Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai (1921–2016) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 14 August 1993 |
26 April 1998 |
4 years, 255 days | Shankar Dayal Sharma |
| 22 |  |
Sunder Singh Bhandari (1921–2005) |
Rajasthan | 27 April 1998 |
15 March 1999[§][ε] |
322 days | K. R. Narayanan |
| 23 | |
Justice Brij Mohan Lal (1937–2001) Chief Justice, Patna High Court (Acting) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 15 March 1999 |
5 October 1999 |
204 days | |
| 24 |  |
Suraj Bhan (1928–2006) Governor of Uttar Pradesh (Additional Charge) |
Haryana | 6 October 1999 |
22 November 1999 |
47 days | |
| 25 |  |
Vinod Chandra Pande IAS (Retd) (1938–2005) |
Uttar Pradesh | 23 November 1999 |
12 June 2003[§][ζ] |
3 years, 201 days | |
| 26 |  |
Justice (Retd) Mandagadde Rama Jois (1931–2021) |
Karnataka | 12 June 2003 |
31 October 2004[‡] |
1 year, 141 days | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
| 27 | .jpg) |
Ved Marwah IPS (Retd) (1934–2020) Governor of Jharkhand (Additional Charge) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 1 November 2004 |
4 November 2004 |
3 days | |
| 28 | _(cropped).jpg) |
Buta Singh (1934–2021) |
Punjab | 5 November 2004 |
29 January 2006[‡] |
1 year, 85 days | |
| 29 | .jpg) |
Gopalkrishna Gandhi IAS (Retd) (born 1945) Governor of West Bengal (Additional Charge) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | 31 January 2006 |
21 June 2006 |
141 days | |
| 30 |  |
R. S. Gavai (1929–2015) |
Maharashtra | 22 June 2006 |
9 July 2008[§][η] |
2 years, 17 days | |
| 31 |  |
R. L. Bhatia (1920–2021) |
Punjab | 10 July 2008 |
28 June 2009 |
353 days | Pratibha Patil |
| 32 | ,_at_Patna,_in_Bihar._The_Governor_of_Bihar,_Shri_Devanand_Konwar_and_the_Chief_Minister_of_Bihar,_Shri_Nitish_Kumar_are_also_seen_(cropped).jpg) |
Devanand Konwar (1934–2020) |
Assam | 29 June 2009 |
21 March 2013[§][θ] |
3 years, 265 days | |
| 33 | .jpg) |
D. Y. Patil (born 1935) |
Maharashtra | 22 March 2013 |
26 November 2014 |
1 year, 249 days | Pranab Mukherjee |
| 34 |  |
Keshari Nath Tripathi (1934–2023) |
Uttar Pradesh | 27 November 2014 |
15 August 2015 |
261 days | |
| 35 |  |
Ram Nath Kovind (born 1945) |
Uttar Pradesh | 16 August 2015 |
20 June 2017[‡][ι] |
1 year, 308 days | |
| (34) | |
Keshari Nath Tripathi (1934–2023) Governor of West Bengal (Additional Charge) |
Uttar Pradesh | 20 June 2017 |
29 September 2017 |
101 days | |
| 36 | .JPG) |
Satya Pal Malik (1946–2025) |
Uttar Pradesh | 30 September 2017 |
22 August 2018[§][κ] |
326 days | Ram Nath Kovind |
| 37 | .jpg) |
Lalji Tandon (1935–2020) |
Uttar Pradesh | 23 August 2018 |
28 July 2019[§][δ] |
339 days | |
| 38 |  |
Phagu Chauhan (born 1948) |
Uttar Pradesh | 29 July 2019 |
16 February 2023[§][λ] |
3 years, 202 days | |
| 39 | _Prof._(Dr.)_L._N._Singh_(cropped).jpg) |
Rajendra Arlekar (born 1954) |
Goa | 17 February 2023 |
1 January 2025[§][η] |
1 year, 319 days | Droupadi Murmu |
| 40 | .jpg) |
Arif Mohammad Khan (born 1951) |
Uttar Pradesh | 2 January 2025 |
13 March 2026 |
1 year, 70 days | |
| 41 |  |
Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) PVSM AVSM UYSM SM VSM** (born 1953) |
Uttarakhand | 14 March 2026 |
Incumbent | 57 days | |
- Resigned to become the Vice President of India
- Transferred as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh
- Transferred as the Governor of Karnataka
- Transferred as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh
- Transferred as the Governor of Gujarat
- Transferred as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
- Transferred as the Governor of Kerala
- Transferred as the Governor of Tripura
- Resigned to become the President of India
- Transferred as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
- Transferred as the Governor of Meghalaya
Timeline
| Timeline of Bihar governors |
 |