# List of mayors of Chennai

The city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India is administered by the Corporation of Chennai headed by a Mayor. The Mayor is the first citizen of the city. The person is the chief of the Chennai Municipal Corporation. The Chennai Municipal Corporation has a history of 323 years and the Office of Mayor was formed in 1933. The corporation has been served by 48 different mayors as of 2012. Priya Rajan is the current mayor of Chennai.
The city is divided into 200 wards, each of them headed by a councillors who work under the Mayor. In addition to the 200 councilors, there are Deputy Commissioners and Heads of various departments and 15 Zonal officers.

## First mayoralty

The Corporation of Madras, the second oldest in the British Empire and the first outside the United Kingdom, was inaugurated on 29 September 1688 based on a Charter issued by James II, King of England. As per the provisions of the charter, Nathaniel Higginson, a member of the Fort St George Council, was appointed first mayor of the city. Higginson resigned after six months and was succeeded by John Littleton. Interrupted between 1746 and 1753 by the brief French occupation of Madras, the post of mayor survived with minor amendments till 1798.
The mayoralty of Madras was amended by the Charter of George I of 1727, Charter II of 1753 and the Company's Charter of 1787. Elections to the office were held annually - from 1688 to 1726, the appointment was made on 29 September, from 1727 to 1753, on 20 December and from 1753 to 1798, on the first Tuesday of every December. From 1798 the Mayor and Aldermen sat in the Recorder's Court until 1801, when that Court was merged in the Supreme Court of Judicature. The post of mayor was revived only in 1933.

### List of mayors

Source:
| # | Name | Took office | Left office | Term |
| 1 | Nathaniel Higginson | 29 September 1688 | March 1689 | 1 |
| 2 | John Littleton | March–April 1689 | 1690 | 1 |
| 3 | Thomas Wavell | 1690 | July 1691 | 1 |
| 4 | William Fraser | July 1691 | September 1691 | 1 |
| 5 | William Fraser | September 1691 | September 1692 | 2 |
| 6 | John Styleman | September 1692 | September 1693 | 1 |
| 7 | John Styleman | September 1693 | September 1694 | 2 |
| 8 | John Styleman | September 1694 | September 1695 | 3 |
| 9 | Thomas Wright | September 1695 | September 1696 | 1 |
| 10 | Thomas Wright | September 1696 | September 1697 | 2 |
| 11 | Nathaniel Stone | September 1697 | September 1698 | 1 |
| 12 | Daniel Chardin | September 1698 | September 1707 | |
| 13 | Jeremiah Harrison | September 1707 | September 1709 | |
| 14 | Robert Raworth | September 1709 | September 1711 | |
| 15 | William Jennings | September 1711 | September 1713 | |
| 16 | Bernard Benyon | 1713 | 1715 | |
| 17 | Thomas Cooke | 1715 | 1717 | |
| 18 | John Legg | 1717 | 1718 | |
| 19 | Richard Horden | 1718 | 1720 | |
| 20 | Richard Benyon | 1720 | 1721 | |
| 21 | Joshua Draper | 1721 | 1722 | |
| 22 | Catesby Oadham | 1721 | 1723 | |
| 23 | George Sitwell | 1722 | 1724 | |
| 24 | James Hubard | 1724 | 1725 | |
| 25 | Francis Rous | 1725 | 1727 | |
| 26 | Captain John Powney | 17 August 1727 | 20 December 1727 | |
| 27 | Francis Rous | 20 December 1727 | 20 December 1730 | |
| 28 | Thomas Weston | 20 December 1730 | 20 December 1731 | |
| 29 | William Monson | 20 December 1731 | 20 December 1732 | |
| 30 | John Bulkley | 1732 | 1732 | |
| 31 | Paul Foxley | 1732 | 1733 | |
| 32 | Samuel Parkes | 1733 | 1734 | |
| 33 | Hugh Naish | 1734 | 1735 | |
| 34 | John Saunders | 1735 | 1736 | |
| 35 | Holland Goddard | 1736 | 1737 | |
| 36 | Captain Rawson Hart | 1737 | 1738 | |
| 37 | Edward Fouke | 1738 | 1739 | |
| 38 | Samuel Harrison | 1739 | 1740 | |
| 39 | Captain Timothy Tullie | 1740 | 1741 | |
| 40 | Sidney Foxall | 1741 | 1742 | |
| 41 | Cornelius Goodwin | 1742 | 1743 | |
| 42 | Henry Powney | 1743 | 1744 | |
| 43 | Samuel Greenhaugh | 1744 | 1745 | |
| 44 | Sidney Foxall | 1745 | 1746 | |
| 45 | Joseph Fouke | 1746 | September 1746 | |
| Mayoralty suspended due to French occupation of Madras (1746-1753) |||||
| 46 | Cornelius Goodwin | 1753 | 1754 | |
| 47 | William Percival | 1753 | 1754 | |
| 48 | Andrew Munro | December 1753 | 1755 | |
| 49 | John Walsh | 1755 | 1756 | |
| 50 | George Mackay | 1756 | 1757 | |
| 51 | Andrew Ross | 1757 | 1758 | |
| 52 | Samuel Ardley | 1758 | 1759 | |
| 53 | Claud Russell | 1759 | 1760 | |
| 54 | Francis Taylor | 1760 | 1761 | |
| 55 | Peter Mariette | 1761 | 1762 | |
| 56 | John Lewin Smith | July 1762 | December 1762 | |
| 57 | Peter Mariette | December 1762 | 1763 | 2 |
| 58 | John Debonnaire | 1763 | 1764 | |
| 59 | Thomas Powney | 1764 | 1765 | |
| 60 | Captain George Baker | 1765 | 1765 | |
| 61 | Claud Russell | 1765 | 1766 | |
| 62 | Edward Raddon | 1766 | 1767 | |
| 63 | Anthony Sadleir | 1767 | 1768 | |
| 64 | Charles Smith | 1768 | 1769 | |
| 65 | Edward Stracey | 1769 | 1770 | |
| 66 | Francis Jourdan | 1770 | 1771 | |
| 67 | John Hollond | 1771 | 1772 | |
| 68 | George Smith | 1772 | 1773 | |
| 69 | John Macpherson (resigned July 1773 and replaced by George Baker) | 1773 | 1774 | |
| 70 | George Savage | 1774 | 1775 | |
| 71 | James Hodges (resigned March 1775 and replaced by George Moubray) | 1775 | 1776 | |
| 72 | John Turing | 1776 | 1777 |
| 73 | Andrew Majendie | 1777 | 1778 | |
| 74 | James Call | 1778 | 1779 | |
| 75 | George Proctor | 1779 | 1780 | |
| 76 | Edward John Hollond | 1780 | 1781 | 1 |
| 77 | Benjamin Roebuck | 1781 | 1782 | 1 |
| 78 | Edward Garrow | 1782 | 1783 | |
| 79 | William Webb | 1783 | 1784 | 1 |
| 80 | Sir John Menzies and James Call | 1784 | 1785 | |
| 81 | Philip Stowey | 1785 | 1786 | |
| 82 | Robert Ewing | 1786 | 1787 | |
| 83 | James Call | 1787 | 1788 | |
| 84 | John and Edward Hollond and Edward Garrow | 1788 | 1789 | 2 |
| 85 | William Webb | 1789 | 1790 | 2 |
| 86 | Vincentio Corbett and James Call | 1790 | 1791 | |
| 87 | Josias Porcher | 1791 | 1792 | |
| 88 | Andrew Ross | 1792 | 1793 | |
| 89 | John Mitford | 1793 | 1794 | |
| 90 | Henry Chichley Michell | 1794 | 1795 | |
| 91 | Benjamin Roebuck | 1795 | 1796 | 2 |
| 92 | James Daly | 1796 | 1797 | |
| 93 | William Dring | 1797 | 1798 | |
| 94 | William Abbot (in Recorder's Court) | 1798 | 1799 | |
| 95 | Alexander Cockburn (in Recorder's Court) | 1799 | 1800 | |
| 96 | Richard Chase (replaced March 1800 by Henry Sewell, who died July 1800 and was in turn replaced by Benjamin Roebuck) (in Recorder's Court) | 1800 | 1801 |
| 97 | Richard Yeldham (in Recorder's Court) | 1801 | 1802 | |

## Presidents

Between 1793 and 1856, municipal administration was in the control of Justices of Peace who also had judicial powers in the city. In 1856, the positions were abolished as per the Madras City Municipal Act XIV of 1856. The judges were replaced with three Municipal Commissioners from the civil service. The commissioners collected municipal taxes and enacted laws for the conservancy and improvement of the city. However, the system failed due to lack of financial accountability and the Municipal Corporation was revived in 1860 by the efforts of Sir Charles Trevelyan, Governor of Madras.
From 1886 onwards, a president was appointed to head the corporation and perform the duties of a mayor. The first president of the corporation was Lieutenant-Colonel G. M. J. Moore, who was then serving as military secretary to the governor of Madras. Presidents were generally appointed for a four-year term but this was reduced to one in 1910. Civil servant T. Raghavaiah was the first Indian to act as President of the Madras Corporation. The first to be appointed as full-time president was T. Vijayaraghavacharya in 1916. P. Theagaraya Chetty of the Justice Party, appointed in 1919, was the first to represent a political party.
| # | Name | Took office | Left office | Term |
| 1 | G. M. J. Moore | 1886 | 1902 | 1 |
| 2 | S. D. Pears | 1902 | 1906 | 1 |
| 3 | E. S. Lloyd | 1906 | 1910 | 1 |
| 4 | N. MacMichael (acting) | 1910 | 1910 | 1 |
| 5 | P. L. Moore | 1910 | 1911 | 1 |
| 6 | T. Raghavaiah (acting) | 1911 | 1911 | 1 |
| 7 | P. L. Moore | 1911 | 1913 | 2 |
| 8 | A. Y. G. Campbell (acting) | 1913 | 1913 | 1 |
| 9 | P. L. Moore | 1913 | 1914 | 3 |
| 10 | E. S. Lloyd | 1914 | 1914 | 2 |
| 11 | J. C. Molony | 1914 | 1916 | 1 |
| 12 | T. Vijayaraghavacharya | 1916 | 1916 | 1 |
| 13 | J. C. Molony | 1916 | 1917 | 2 |
| 14 | H. H. Burkitt | 1917 | 1918 | 1 |
| 15 | J. C. Molony | 1918 | 1919 | 3 |
| 16 | Muhammad Bazullah | 1919 | 1919 | 1 |
| 17 | P. Theagaraya Chetty | 1919 | 1923 | 1 |
| 18 | V. Thirumalai Pillai | 1923 | 1924 | 1 |
| 19 | Mohammad Usman | 1924 | 1925 | 1 |
| 20 | O. Thanikachalam Chetti | 1925 | 1925 | 1 |
| 21 | Sami Venkatachalam Chetty | 1925 | 1926 | 1 |
| 22 | G. N. Chetty | 1926 | 1928 | 1 |
| 23 | Arcot Ramaswamy Mudaliar | 1928 | 1930 | 1 |
| 24 | P. T. Kumarasamy Chetty | 1930 | 1931 | 1 |
| 25 | T. S. Ramaswamy Iyer | 1931 | 1932 | 1 |
| 26 | M. A. Muthiah Chettiar | 1932 | 1933 | 1 |

## Mayors

| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Term |
| 1 | M. A. Muthiah Chettiar | 8 March 1933 | 7 November 1933 | 1 |
| 2 | W. W. Ladden | 1933 | 1934 | 1 |
| 3 (1) | M. A. Muthiah Chettiar | 1934 | 1935 | 2 |
| 4 | Abdul Hameed Khan | 1935 | 1936 | 1 |
| 5 | K. Sriramulu Naidu | 1936 | 1937 | 1 |
| 6 | J. Shivashanmugam Pillai | 1937 | 1938 | 1 |
| 7 | K. Venkataswamy Naidu | 1938 | 1939 | 1 |
| 8 | S. Satyamurti | 1939 | 1940 | 1 |
| 9 | C. Basudev | May 1940 | May 1941 | 1 |
| 10 | G. Janakiram Chetty | May 1941 | November 1941 | 1 |
| 11 | V. Chakkarai Chettiar | 1941 | 1942 | 1 |
| 12 | C. Tadulinga Mudaliar | 1942 | 1943 | 1 |
| 13 | Syed Niamatullah | 1943 | 1944 | 1 |
| 14 | M. Radhakrishna Pillai | 1944 | 1945 | 1 |
| 15 | N. Sivaraj | 1945 | 1946 | 1 |
| 16 | T. Sundara Rao Naidu | 1946 | 1947 | 1 |
| 17 | U. Krishna Rao | 1947 | 1948 | 1 |
| 18 | S. Ramaswamy Naidu | 1948 | 1949 | 1 |
| 19 | P. V. Cherian | 1949 | 1950 | 1 |
| 20 | R. Ramanathan Chettiar | 1950 | 1951 | 1 |
| 21 | C. H. Sibghatullah | 1951 | 1952 | 1 |
| 22 | T. Chengalvorayan | 1952 | 1953 | 1 |
| 23 | B. Parameswaran | 1953 | 1954 | 1 |
| 24 | R. Munusamy | 1954 | 1954 | |
| 25 | M. A. Chidambaram | 1954 (?) | 1955 | 1 |
| 26 | V. R. Ramanatha Iyer | 1955 | 1956 | 1 |
| 27 | K. N. Srinivasan | 1956 | 1957 | 1 |
| 28 | Tara Cherian | December 1957 | November 1958 | 1 |
| 29 | K. Kamalakannan | November 1958 | April 1959 | 1 |
| 30 | A. P. Arasu | April 1959 | December 1959 | 1 |
| 31 | M. S. Abdul Khader | 1959 | 1960 | 1 |
| 32 | V. Munusamy | 1960 | 1961 | 1 |
| 33 | G. Kuchelar | 1961 | 1963 | |
| 34 | R. Sivasankar Mehta | November 1963 | March 1964 | 1 |
| 35 | S. Krishnamurthy | 1964 | 1965 | 1 |
| 36 | C. Chitti Babu | 1965 | 1966 | 1 |
| 37 | M. Minor Moses | 1965 | 1966 | |
| 38 | Era Sambandham | 1966 | 1967 | 1 |
| 39 | Habibullah Baig | 1967 | 1968 | 1 |
| 40 | Velur D. Narayanan | 1968 | 1969 | 1 |
| 41 | V. Balasundaram | 1969 | 1970 | 1 |
| 42 | S. A. Ganesan | 1970 | 1971 | 1 |
| 43 | Kamakshi Jayaraman | 1971 | 1972 | 1 |
| 44 | R. Arumugam | 1972 | 30 November 1973 | 1 |
| Corporation / Mayoralty suspended (1 December 1973 - 25 October 1996) ||||||
| 45 | M. K. Stalin | 25 October 1996 | 6 September 2002 | 1 |
| (45) | M. K. Stalin | September 2001 | June 2002 | 2 |
| 46 | Karate R. Thiagarajan | October 2002 | October 2006 | 1 |
| 47 | M. Subramaniam | October 2006 | September 2011 | 1 |
| 48 | Saidai Sa. Duraisamy | 25 October 2011 | 24 October 2016 | 1 |
| Corporation / Mayoralty suspended (25 October 2016 - 3 March 2022) ||||||
| 49 | Priya Rajan | 4 March 2022 | Incumbent | 1 |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 3 The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period