List of governors of Karnataka
The governor of Karnataka is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the President's pleasure. The governor is "de jure" head of the Government of Karnataka; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, which thus holds "de facto" executive authority in the state. The Constitution of India  also empowers the governor to act upon his or her own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the President's assent. Over the years, the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the central government–appointed governor. Since 1956, eighteen people have served as the governor of Mysore (as the state was known before 1 November 1973) and Karnataka. The first was Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, previously the Maharaja of Mysore (1940–50) and the Rajpramukh of Mysore (1950–56). A majority  of Karnataka's governors have been politicians (ten), another five have been civil servants. V. V. Giri went on become the fourth President of India, and Gopal Swarup Pathak the country's fourth Vice President. Smt V. S. Ramadevi was the first and only Woman Governor of Karnataka (1999-2002) and also holds the record of first Woman Chief Election Commissioner in india.