List of governors of Assam explained

This is a list of governors of Assam, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

The governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the president of India in the state of Assam. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. The current governor is Lakshman Acharya.

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
• Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor

British military commanders in occupied Assam (1824–26)

In 1824, British forces occupied Assam, which was politically never part of either India or Burma

• George McMorine, 1824
• Arthur Richards, 1824–26

British political agents in Assam (1826–28)

On 24 February 1826, the Treaty of Yandaboo ceded portions of Assam from Burma to Britain.

• David Scott, 1826–28

Commissioners of Assam (1828–74)

In 1828, Western Assam was incorporated into the province of Bengal, followed by the rest of Assam in 1833. A commissioner of Assam was appointed, subordinate to the governor of Bengal.

• David Scott, 1828–20 August 1831, continued
• Thomas Campbell Robertson, 1831–34
• Francis Jenkins, 1834–61
• Henry Hopkinson, 1861–74

Chief commissioners of Assam (1874–1905)

In 1874, Assam was separated from the Bengal Presidency, and its status was upgraded to a chief commissioner's province.

• Richard Harte Keatinge, 1874–78
• Steuart Colvin Bayley, 1878–81
• Sir Charles Alfred Elliott, 1881–85
• William Erskine Ward, 1885–87, first time
• Sir Dennis Fitzpatrick, 1887–89
• James Westland, 1889
• James Wallace Quinton, 1889–91
• William Erskine Ward, 1891–96, second time
• Sir Henry John Stedman Cotton, 1896–1902
• Sir Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, 1902–05

Lieutenant governors of East Bengal and Assam (1905–12)

In 1905, Bengal was partitioned and East Bengal and Assam was formed, governed by a lieutenant governor.

• Sir Joseph Bampfylde Fuller, 1905–06
• Lancelot Hare, 1906–11
• Charles Stuart Bayley, 1911–12

Chief commissioners of Assam (1912–21)

In 1912, East Bengal was re-incorporated into the Bengal presidency, and Assam Province was again governed by a chief commissioner.

• Sir Archdale Earle, 1912–18
• Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson-Bell, 1918–3 January 1921

Governors of Assam (1921–47)

In 1921, the chief commissionership was upgraded to governor.

1. Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson-Bell, 3 January 1921 – 2 April 1921
2. Sir William Sinclair Marris, 3 April 1921 – 10 October 1922
3. Sir John Henry Kerr, 10 October 1922 – 28 June 1927
4. Sir Egbert Laurie Lucas Hammond, 28 June 1927 – 11 May 1932
5. Sir Michael Keane, 11 May 1932 – 4 March 1937
6. Sir Robert Niel Reid, 4 March 1937 – 4 May 1942
   1. Henry Joseph Twynam, 24 February 1938 – 4 October 1939, (acting for Reid)
7. Sir Andrew Gourlay Clow, 4 May 1942 – 4 May 1947
   1. Frederick Chalmers Bourne, 4 April 1946–?, (acting for Clow)
   2. Henry Foley Knight, 4 September 1946 – 23 December 1946, (acting for Clow)
8. Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari, 4 May 1947 – 15 August 1947

Governors of Assam since 1947

	Name	Portrait	Took office	class=unsortable	Left office		Duration	Home State	Appointed by
1.			15 Aug 1947	29 Dec 1948		Andhra Pradesh	Lord Mountbatten
-	Ronald Francis Lodge (acting)		30 December 1948	15 February 1949		Not Known	C. Rajagopalachari
2.			16 Feb 1949	26 May 1950		Uttar Pradesh
3.			27 May 1950	14 May 1956		British India	Rajendra Prasad
4.			15 May 1956	22 August 1959		Bihar
5.			23 August 1959	13 October 1959		Not Known
6.			14 October 1959	12 November 1960		Maharashtra
7.			13 November 1960	12 February 1961		Uttar Pradesh
(6).			13 February 1961	7 September 1962		Maharashtra
(7).			8 September 1962	16 April 1968		Uttar Pradesh	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
8.			17 April 1968	7 December 1970			Zakir Husain
-	Parbati Kumar Goswami (acting for Nehru)		8 December 1970	4 January 1971		Assam	V. V. Giri
(8).			5 January 1971	18 September 1973		Uttar Pradesh
9.			19 September 1973	11 August 1981		Bihar
10.			12 August 1981	28 March 1984		Uttar Pradesh	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
11.			29 March 1984	15 April 1984		Not Known	Zail Singh
12.			16 April 1984	11 May 1989		Jharkhand
13.			12 May 1989	26 July 1989		Rajasthan	R. Venkataraman
14.			27 July 1989	1 May 1990		Not Known
15.			2 May 1990	16 March 1991		Jammu and Kashmir
16.			17 March 1991	31 August 1997		Odisha
17.			1 September 1997	20 April 2003		Bihar	K. R. Narayan
18.			21 April 2003	4 June 2003		Rajasthan	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
19.			5 June 2003	3 July 2008
20.			4 July 2008	25 June 2009			Pratibha Patil
21.			26 June 2009	26 July 2009		Kerala
22.			27 July 2009	10 December 2009		Uttar Pradesh
23.			11 November 2009	11 December 2014		Odisha
24.			12 December 2014 [1]	21 August 2016		Karnataka	Pranab Mukherjee
25.			22 August 2016 [2]	9 October 2017		Maharashtra
26.			10 October 2017[3]	14 February 2023		Delhi	Ramnath Kovind
27.			22 February 2023	29 July 2024		Rajasthan	Draupadi Murmu
28.			30 July 2024	Incumbent		Uttar Pradesh

See also

• History of Assam
• Chief Minister of Assam
• Governors of India

References

• List of Governors from assamassembly.nic.in
• http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_states.html#Assam
• http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_BrProvinces.htm#Assam
• Colonial administrators and post-independence leaders in India (1616–2000) .

Notes and References

1. News: P B Acharya to assume additional charge as Assam Governor. 9 January 2015. The Indian Express. 11 December 2014.
2. News: Najma Heptulla, Mukhi appointed Governors. Business Standard India. 17 August 2016.
3. News: The Times of India . New governors appointed: All you need to know . 13 December 2023 . 30 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231213135151/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/new-governors-appointed-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/60893472.cms . 13 December 2023.