List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu Since 1920 to Till Date

The area under the present day state of Tamil Nadu has been part of different territorial configurations under Madras Presidency and Madras State in the history.

The Madras Presidency, headquartered in Fort St. George, was a province of British India that comprised present day Tamil Nadu, the Malabar region of North Kerala, the coastal and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, and the Bellary, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi districts of Karnataka. It was established in 1653 to be the headquarters of the English settlements on the Coromandel Coast.

The first legislature was formed in 1920 after general elections. The term of the legislative council was three years. It had 132 members of whom 34 were nominated by the Governor and the rest were elected.

Under the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature was set up with a legislative assembly consisting of 215 members and a legislative council having 56 members. The first legislative assembly under this act was constituted in July 1937. The legislative council was a permanent body with a third of its members retiring every three years.

In 1939, the British government declared India's entrance into World War II without consulting provincial governments. The Indian National Congress protested by asking all its elected representatives to resign from the governments. Congress came back to power in 1946 after new provincial elections.

Madras State, precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after India became a republic on 26 January 1950. It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The first legislature of the Madras State to be elected on the basis ofuniversal suffrage was constituted on 1 March 1952, after the general elections held in January 1952.

The state was split up along linguistic lines in 1953, carving out Andhra State. Under the States Reorganization Act, 1956, the States of Kerala, and Mysorewere carved out of the Madras state. Under the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh and Madras Alteration of Boundaries Act, 1959, with effect from 1 April 1960, Tirutani taluk and Pallipattu sub-taluk of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh were transferred to Madras State in exchange for territories from the Chingelput and Salem Districts.

Tamil Nadu: Madras State was renamed as Tamil Nadu (Tamil for Tamil country) on 14 January 1969. The legislative assembly adopted a resolution on 14 May 1986, to abolish the legislative council. Thereafter, the legislative council was abolished through an act of Parliament named the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1986 with effect from 1 November 1986. The state legislature is unicameral, and consists of 235 members including one nominated member.

The complete list of Chief Ministers ruled Tamil Nadu Since 1920 to Till Date are listed below, 2016 election will be for the 45th Chief Minister post.

No	Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu	From	To	Term	Political party
1	A. Subbarayalu Reddiar	Dec 17, 1920	Jul 11, 1921	1st	Justice Party
2	Raja of Panagal	Jul 11, 1921	Sep 11, 1923	1st	Justice Party
3	Raja of Panagal	Nov 19, 1923	Dec 3, 1926	2nd	Justice Party
4	P. Subbarayan	Dec 4, 1926	Oct 27, 1930	1st	Unaffiliated
5	B. Munuswamy Naidu	Oct 27, 1930	Nov 4, 1932	1st	Justice Party
6	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao	Nov 5, 1932	Nov 1, 1934	1st	Justice Party
7	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao	Nov 1, 1934	Apr 4, 1936	2nd	Justice Party
8	P. T. Rajan	Apr 4, 1936	Aug 24, 1936	1st	Justice Party
9	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao	Aug 24, 1936	Apr 1, 1937	3rd	Justice Party
10	Kurmar Venkata Reddy Naidu	Apr 1, 1937	Jul 14, 1937	1st	Interim provisional ministry
11	C. Rajagopalachari	Jul 14, 1937	Oct 29, 1939	1st	Congress
	Governor's Rule	Oct 29, 1939	Apr 30, 1946
12	Tanguturi Prakasam	Apr 30, 1946	Mar 23, 1947	1st	Congress
13	O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar	Mar 23, 1947	Apr 6, 1949	1st	Congress
14	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja	Apr 6, 1949	Jan 26, 1950	1st	Congress
15	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja	Jan 26, 1950	Apr 9, 1952	2nd	Congress
16	C. Rajagopalachari	Apr 10, 1952	Apr 13, 1954	2nd	Congress
17	K. Kamaraj	Apr 13, 1954	Mar 31, 1957	1st	Congress
18	K. Kamaraj	Apr 13, 1957	Mar 1, 1962	2nd	Congress
19	K. Kamaraj	Mar 15, 1962	Oct 2, 1963	3rd	Congress
20	M. Bakthavatsalam	Oct 2, 1963	Mar 6, 1967	1st	Congress
21	C. N. Annadurai	Mar 6, 1967	Jan 14, 1969	1st	DMK
22	C. N. Annadurai	Jan 14, 1969	Feb 3, 1969	1st	DMK
23	V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (acting)	Feb 3, 1969	Feb 10, 1969	1st	DMK
24	M. Karunanidhi	Feb 10, 1969	Jan 4, 1971	1st	DMK
25	M. Karunanidhi	Mar 15, 1971	Jan 31, 1976	2nd	DMK
26	President's rule	Jan 31, 1976	Jun 30, 1977
27	M. G. Ramachandran	Jun 30, 1977	Feb 17, 1980	1st	AIADMK
28	President's rule	Feb 17, 1980	Jun 9, 1980
29	M. G. Ramachandran	Jun 9, 1980	Nov 15, 1984	2nd	AIADMK
30	M. G. Ramachandran	Feb 10, 1985	Dec 24, 1987	3rd	AIADMK
31	V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (acting)	Dec 24, 1987	Jan 7, 1988	2nd	AIADMK
32	Janaki Ramachandran	Jan 7, 1988	Jan 30, 1988	1st	AIADMK
33	President's rule	Jan 30, 1988	Jan 27, 1989
34	M. Karunanidhi	Jan 27, 1989	Jan 30, 1991	3rd	DMK
35	President's rule	Jan 30, 1991	Jun 24, 1991
36	J. Jayalalithaa	Jun 24, 1991	May 12, 1996	1st	AIADMK
37	M. Karunanidhi	May 13, 1996	May 13, 2001	4th	DMK
38	J. Jayalalithaa	May 14, 2001	Sep 21, 2001	2nd	AIADMK
39	O. Panneerselvam	Sep 21, 2001	Mar 1, 2002	1st	AIADMK
40	J. Jayalalithaa	Mar 2, 2002	May 12, 2006	3rd	AIADMK
41	M. Karunanidhi	May 13, 2006	May 15, 2011	5th	DMK
42	J. Jayalalithaa	May 16, 2011	Sep 27, 2014	4th	AIADMK
43	O. Panneerselvam	Sep 29, 2014	May 22, 2015	2nd	AIADMK
44	J. Jayalalithaa	May 23, 2015	Incumbent	5th	AIADMK