# List of lieutenant governors of Puducherry

Puducherry (formerly known as "Pondicherry") is a Union Territory of India. Governance and administration of the territory fall under the federal authority.

## List of chief governing officers
### Commissioners

* François Caron, 1668–1672
* François Baron, 1672–1681
* François Martin, 1681 – November 1693
* Dutch occupation, September 1693 – September 1699 — Treaty of Ryswick (1697)

### Governors

In the days of the French East India Company, the title of the top official was most of the time Governor of Pondicherry and General Commander of the French settlements in the East Indies (French: Gouverneur de Pondichéry et commandant général des établissements français aux Indes orientales). After 1816, it was Governor of French establishments in India (French: Gouverneur des établissements français de l'Inde').
* François Martin, September 1699 – 31 December 1706
* Pierre Dulivier (Acting), January 1707 – July 1708
* Guillaume André d'Hébert, 1708–1712
* Pierre Dulivier, 1713–1715
* Guillaume André d'Hébert, 1715–1718
* Pierre André Prévost de La Prévostière, August 1718 – 11 October 1721
* Pierre Christoph Le Noir (Acting), 1721–1723
* Joseph Beauvollier de Courchant, 1723–1726
* Pierre Christoph Le Noir, 1727–1734
* Pierre Benoît Dumas, 1735–1741
* Joseph François Dupleix, 14 January 1742 – 15 October 1754
* Charles Godeheu, Le commissaire (Acting), 15 October 1754 – 1754
* Georges Duval de Leyrit, 1756–1758
* Thomas Arthur, comte de Lally, 1758 – January 1761
* First British occupation, January 15, 1761 – June 25, 1765 — Treaty of Paris (1763)
* Jean Law de Lauriston, 1765–1766
* Antoine Boyellau (Acting), 1766–1767
* Jean Law de Lauriston, 1767 – January 1777Chandernagor Government House
* Second British occupation, 1778 – 1783 – Treaty of Paris (1783)
* Guillaume de Bellecombe, January 1777 – 1778
* Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau, 1783–1785
* François de Souillac, 1785
* David Charpentier de Cossigny, October 1785 – 1787
* Thomas Conway, October 1787 – 1789
* Camille Charles Leclerc, Chevalier de Fresne, 1789–1792
* Dominique Prosper de Chermont, November 1792 – 1793
* L. Leroux de Touffreville, 1793
* Third British occupation, 23 August 1793 – 18 June 1802 — Treaty of Amiens (1802)
* Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen, 18 June 1802 – August 1803
* Louis Binot, 1803
* Fourth British occupation, August 1803 – 26 September 1816 — Treaty of Paris (1814)
* Comte Dupuy, 26 September 1816 – October 1825
* Joseph Cordier, Marie Emmanuel (Acting), October 1825 – 19 June 1826
* Eugène Desbassayns de Richemont, 1826 – 2 August 1828
* Joseph Cordier, Marie Emmanuel (Acting), 2 August 1828 – 11 April 1829
* Auguste Jacques Nicolas Peureux de Mélay, 11 April 1829 – 3 May 1835
* Hubert Jean Victor, Marquis de Saint-Simon, 3 May 1835 – April 1840
* Paul de Nourquer du Camper, April 1840 – 1844
* Louis Pujol, 1844–1849
* Hyacinthe Marie de Lalande de Calan, 1849–1850
* Philippe Achille Bédier, 1851–1852
* Raymond de Saint-Maur, August 1852 – April 1857
* Alexandre Durand d'Ubraye, April 1857 – January 1863
* Napoléon Joseph Louis Bontemps, January 1863 – June 1871
* Antoine-Léonce Michaux, June 1871 – November 1871
* Pierre Aristide Faron, November 1871 – 1875
* Adolph Joseph Antoine Trillard, 1875–1878
* Léonce Laugier, February 1879 – April 1881
* Théodore Drouhet, 1881 – October 1884
* Étienne Richaud, October 1884 – 1886
* Édouard Manès, 1886–1888
* Georges Jules Piquet, 1888–1889
* Louis Hippolyte Marie Nouet, 1889–1891
* Léon Émile Clément-Thomas, 1891–1896
* Louis Jean Girod, 1896 – February 1898
* François Pierre Rodier, February 1898 – 11 January 1902
* Louis Pelletan (Acting), 11 January 1902
* Victor Louis Marie Lanrezac, 1902–1904
* Philema Lemaire, August 1904 – April 1905
* Joseph Pascal François, April 1905 – October 1906
* Gabriel Louis Angoulvant, October 1906 – 3 December 1907
* Adrien Jules Jean Bonhoure, 1908–1909
* Ernest Fernand Lévecque, 1909 – 9 July 1910
* Alfred Albert Martineau, 9 July 1910 – July 1911
* Pierre Louis Alfred Duprat, July 1911 – November 1913
* Alfred Albert Martineau, November 1913 – 29 June 1918
* Pierre Étienne Clayssen (Acting), 29 June 1918 – 21 February 1919
* Louis Martial Innocent Gerbinis, 21 February 1919 – 11 February 1926
* Henri Léo Eugène Lagroua (Acting), 11 February 1926 – 5 August 1926
* Pierre Jean Henri Didelot, 1926–1928
* Robert Paul Marie de Guise, 1928–1931
* François Adrien Juvanon, 1931–1934
* Léon Solomiac, August 1934 – 1936
* Horace Valentin Crocicchia, 1936–1938
* Louis Alexis Étienne Bonvin, 26 September 1938 – 1945
* Nicolas Ernest Marie Maurice Jeandin, 1945–1946
* Charles François Marie Baron, 20 March 1946 – 20 August 1947
French India became an Overseas territory (French: territoire d'outre-mer) of France in 1946.

### Commissioners

* Charles François Marie Baron, 20 August 1947 – May 1949
* Charles Chambon, May 1949 – 31 July 1950
* André Ménard, 31 July 1950 – October 1954
* Georges Escargueil, October 1954 – 1 November 1954
French India de facto transferred to the Republic of India in 1954.

### High Commissioners

The first High Commissioner, Kewal Singh was appointed immediately after the Kizhoor referendum on 21 October 1954 as per Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947.$^{:964}$ The Chief Commissioner had the powers of the former French commissioner, but was under the direct control of the Union Government.$^{:198}$
The list of Chief Commissioners is given below$^{:977}$
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Kewal Singh | 21 October 1954 | 16 November 1956 |
| 2 | M.K. Kripalani$^{:103}$ | 17 November 1956 | 27 August 1958 |
| 3 | Lal Ram Saran Singh$^{:197}$ | 30 August 1958 | 8 February 1961 |
| 4 | Sisir Kumar Dutta | 2 May 1961 | 1 August 1963 |
| 5 | K.J. Somasundaram | 2 August 1963 | 13 October 1963 |

## Chief Commissioner (1954 – 1963)

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office |
| 2 | Mirza Rashid Ali Baig | circa 1947 | November 1949 |
| 2 | S.K. Banerjee | 31 November 1949 | June 1950 |
| 3 | R.K. Tandon | 10 June 1950 | circa October 1953 |
| 4 | Kewal Singh | circa October 1953 | 21 October 1954 |
After the de facto transfer of French settlements in India, on November 1, 1954, a Chief Commissioner, appointed by Government of India, replaced the last Commissioner of French India, Georges Escargueil. The first High Commissioner, Kewal Singh was appointed immediately after the Kizhoor referendum, on 21 October 1954, as per Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947.$^{:964}$ The Chief Commissioner had the powers of the former French commissioner, but was under the direct control of the Union Government.$^{:198}$
The list of Chief Commissioners is given below.$^{:977}$
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | De jure sovereignty | De facto sovereignty |
| 1 | Kewal Singh | 21 October 1954 | 16 November 1956 | France | France (Until Nov 1 1954) India (Since Nov 1 1954) |
| 2 | M.K. Kripalani$^{:103}$ | 17 November 1956 | 27 August 1958 | France | India |
| 3 | Lal Ram Saran Singh$^{:197}$ | 30 August 1958 | 8 February 1961 | France | India |
| 4 | Sisir Kumar Dutta$^{:474–475}$ | 2 May 1961 | 1 August 1963 | France (Until Aug 16 1962) India (Since Aug 16 1962) | India |
| 5 | K.J. Somasundaram$^{:445}$ | 2 August 1963 | 13 October 1963 | India | India |

## Lieutenant Governors

The Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry resides at the Raj Nivas (French: Le Palais du Gouverneur) at the Nehru Park, the former palace of the Governor General of French India. The Central government is more directly involved in the financial well-being of the territory.
After de jure transfer in 1962, the State of Pondicherry is fully and legally integrated into Indian Union. After the formation of Union territory on July 1, 1963, the Lieutenant Governor has replaced High Commissioner in Pondicherry.
Only five Lt. Governors managed to serve more than four years. They are S.L. Silam, B.D.Jatti, B.T. Kulkarni, Rajani Rai and Kiran Bedi. Only S.L. Silam completed his 5-year term. Kiran Bedi is second longest serving Lt. Governor till date. The list of Lt. Governors of Puducherry is given below.$^{:977}$
| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Duration |
| 1 | S.L. Silam | 14 Oct 1963 | 13 Oct 1968 | 4 years, 365 days |
| 2 | B.D. Jatti | 14 Oct 1968 | 7 Nov 1972 | 4 years, 24 days |
| 3 | Chhedilal | 8 Nov 1972 | 29 Aug 1976 | 3 years, 295 days |
| 4 | B.T. Kulkarni | 30 Aug 1976 | 31 Oct 1980 | 4 years, 62 days |
| 5 | Ram Kishore Vyas | 1 Nov 1980 | 15 Apr 1981 | 165 days |
| - | Sri Sadiq Ali | 16 Apr 1981 | 26 Jul 1981 | 101 days |
| 6 | R.N. Haldipur | 27 Jul 1981 | 14 May 1982 | 291 days |
| 7 | K.M. Chandy | 15 May 1982 | 5 Aug 1983 | 1 year, 82 days |
| 8 | Kona Prabhakara Rao | 2 Sep 1983 | 17 Jun 1984 | 289 days |
| - | S.L. Khurana | 18 Jun 1984 | 30 Sep 1984 | 104 days |
| 9 | Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary | 1 Oct 1984 | 21 Jun 1988 | 3 years, 264 days |
| 10 | Ranjit Singh Dyal | 22 Jun 1988 | 19 Feb 1990 | 1 year, 242 days |
| 11 | Chandrawati | 19 Feb 1990 | 18 Dec 1990 | 302 days |
| 12 | Har Swarup Singh | 19 Dec 1990 | 05 Feb 1993 | 2 years, 48 days |
| - | Bishma Narain Singh | 06 Feb 1993 | 31 May 1993 | 2 years, 84 days |
| - | Marri Channa Reddy | 31 May 1993 | 1 May 1995 | 1 year, 335 days |
| 13 | Rajendra Kumari Bajpai | 2 May 1995 | 22 Apr 1998 | 2 years, 355 days |
| 14 | Rajani Rai | 23 Apr 1998 | 29 Jul 2002 | 4 years, 97 days |
| 15 | K. R. Malkani | 31 Jul 2002 | 27 Oct 2003 | 1 year, 88 days |
| - | P.S. Rama Mohan Rao | 27 Oct 2003 | 5 Jan 2004 | 70 days |
| 16 | Nagendra Nath Jha | 5 Jan 2004 | 6 Jul 2004 | 183 days |
| 17 | M. M. Lakhera | 7 Jul 2004 | 18 Jul 2006 | 2 years, 11 days |
| 18 | Mukut Mithi | 19 Jul 2006 | 12 Mar 2008 | 1 year, 237 days |
| 19 | Bhopinder Singh | 15 Mar 2008 | 22 Jul 2008 | 129 days |
| 20 | Govind Singh Gurjar | 23 Jul 2008 | 6 Apr 2009 | 257 days |
| - | Surjit Singh Barnala | 9 Apr 2009 | 27 Jul 2009 | 109 days |
| 21 | Iqbal Singh | 27 Jul 2009 | 9 Jul 2013 | 3 years, 347 days |
| 22 | Virendra Kataria | 10 Jul 2013 | 11 Jul 2014 | 1 year, 1 day |
| 23 | A. K. Singh | 12 Jul 2014 | 26 May 2016 | 1 year, 319 days |
| 24 | Kiran Bedi | 28 May 2016 | 16 Feb 2021 | 4 years, 264 days |
| - | Tamilisai Soundararajan (additional charge) | 18 Feb 2021 | 18 March 2024 | 3 years, 30 days |
| - | C.P. Radhakrishnan (additional charge) | 20 March 2024 | 6 August 2024 | 134 days |
| 25 | Kuniyil Kailashnathan | 7 August 2024 | Incumbent | 224 days |