List of governors of Assam

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.

Governor of Assam
Incumbent Jagdish Mukhi since 10 October 2017
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Raj Bhawan, Guwahati
Appointer	President of India
Term length	Five Years
Inaugural holder	Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari (Independent India) Nicholas Beatson-Bell (Pre-Independent India)
Formation	3 January 1921

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 Jagdish Mukhi[1]

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. Robert Neil 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. Rederik 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	Tenure
1	Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari	15 August 1947 – 28 December 1948
-	Ronald Francis Lodge (Acting)	30 December 1948 – 16 February 1949
2	Sri Prakasa	16 February 1949 – 27 May 1950
3	Jairamdas Daulatram	27 May 1950 – 15 May 1956
4	Saiyid Fazal Ali	15 May 1956 – 22 August 1959
5	Chandreswar Prasad Sinha	23 August 1959 – 14 October 1959
6	General (Retired) Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh	14 October 1959 – 12 November 1960
7	Vishnu Sahay	12 November 1960 – 13 January 1961
(8)	General (Retired) Satyavant Mallannah Shrinagesh	13 January 1961 – 7 September 1962
(9)	Vishnu Sahay	7 September 1962 – 17 April 1968
10	Braj Kumar Nehru	17 April 1968 – 19 September 1973
-	Justice P. K. Goswami (acting for Nehru)	8 December 1970 – 4 January 1971
11	Lallan Prasad Singh	19 September 1973 – 10 August 1981
12	Prakash Mehrotra	10 August 1981 – 28 March 1984
13	Justice Tribeni Sahai Misra	28 March 1984 – 15 April 1984
14	Bhishma Narain Singh	15 April 1984 – 10 May 1989
15	Harideo Joshi	10 May 1989 – 21 July 1989
16	Justice Anisetti Raghuvir	21 July 1989 – 2 May 1990
17	Justice Devi Das Thakur	2 May 1990 – 17 March 1991
18	Loknath Mishra	17 March 1991 – 1 September 1997
19	Lt. General (Retired) Srinivas Kumar Sinha	1 September 1997 – 21 April 2003
20	Arvind Dave	21 April 2003 – 5 June 2003
21	Lt. General (Retired) Ajai Singh	5 June 2003 – 4 July 2008
22	Shiv Charan Mathur	4 July 2008 – 25 June 2009
23	K Sankaranarayanan	26 June 2009 – 27 July 2009
24	Syed Sibtey Razi	27 July 2009 – 10 November 2009
25	Janaki Ballabh Patnaik	11 November 2009 – 11 December 2014
26	Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya	December 2014 – 17 August 2016[2]
27	Banwarilal Purohit	22 August 2016 – 10 October 2017[3]
28	Jagdish Mukhi	10 October 2017 – Incumbent

See also

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

References

1. "President Kovind Appoints 5 New Governors, Tamil Nadu Gets Its Own After A Year". NDTV.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
2. "P B Acharya to assume additional charge as Assam Governor". The Indian Express. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
3. http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/najma-heptulla-mukhi-appointed-governors-116081700886_1.html

• 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)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)