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The governor of Jharkhand is the nominal head of the Indian state of Jharkhand.[1] The governor is appointed by the president of India. Though all official affairs of the state are administered and carried out in the name of the governor, the real executive power rests with the chief minister who is a member of the legislative assembly and is the leader of the majority party in the house. The official residence of the governor is Raj Bhavan.
| Governor of Jharkhand | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Style | His/Her Excellency |
| Residence | Raj Bhavan; Ranchi |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | At the pleasure of the President |
| Inaugural holder | Prabhat Kumar |
| Formation | 15 November 2000 |
| Website | rajbhavanjharkhand |
The position of the governor of Jharkhand came into existence following the creation of the state in November 2000 as a result of the bifurcation of Bihar. The first governor to be appointed was Prabhat Kumar who served in office between 2000 and 2002. The current governor is Santosh Gangwar.
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The governor enjoys many different types of powers:
- Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,
- Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha or Vidhan Parishad, and
- Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor.[2]
Apart from enjoying various constitutional powers, the governor of Jharkhand is the ex-officio Chancellor of the state universities of Jharkhand. The universities include Binod Bihari Mahto Koyalanchal University, Birsa Agricultural University, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, Jharkhand Raksha Shakti University, Jharkhand University of Technology, Kolhan University, Nilamber-Pitamber University, Ranchi University, Sido Kanhu Murmu University, and Vinoba Bhave University.
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Following is the list of governors of Jharkhand since its inception on 15 November 2000. As of date, ten governors have been appointed to office. The first governor was Prabhat Kumar who served from 2000 till 2002. The current governor is Santosh Gangwar who has been in office since 31 July 2024. The first female and the longest serving governor of the state till date is Droupadi Murmu who served as the governor between 2015 and 2021.
| No. | Portrait | Name (born – died) |
Home state | Tenure in office | Prior positions held | Chief Minister(s) | Appointed by (President) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 |  |
Prabhat Kumar प्रभात कुमार IAS (Retd.) (born 1940) |
Uttar Pradesh | 15 November 2000 |
3 February 2002 |
1 year, 78 days |
|
Babulal Marandi | K. R. Narayanan |
| Former Cabinet Secretary. Appointed as the first Governor of Jharkhand upon the state's bifurcation from Bihar in November 2000. Continued to serve in office until stepping down in February 2002. | |||||||||
| – | |
Vinod Chandra Pande विनोद चंद्र पांडे IAS (Retd.) (1932–2005) (Additional charge) |
Uttar Pradesh | 4 February 2002 |
14 July 2002 |
160 days |
|
Babulal Marandi | K. R. Narayanan |
| Additional charge. Governor of Bihar was assigned the additional charge of the Governor of Jharkhand following the resignation of governor Prabhat Kumar in February 2002. Continued to serve in office until the permanent appointment of M. Rama Jois as the Governor of Jharkhand in July 2002. | |||||||||
| 2 |  |
Justice (Retd.) M. Rama Jois एम. राम जोइस (1931–2021) |
Karnataka | 15 July 2002 |
11 June 2003 |
331 days |
|
Babulal Marandi | K. R. Narayanan |
| Arjun Munda | |||||||||
| Former judge. Appointed as the second Governor of Jharkhand in July 2002 to replace V. C. Pande who held the additional charge of the governor of the state. Continued to serve in office until being transferred and appointed as the Governor of Bihar in June 2003. | |||||||||
| 3 | |
Ved Marwah वेद मारवाह IPS (Retd.) (1934–2020) |
Delhi | 12 June 2003 |
9 December 2004 |
1 year, 180 days |
|
Arjun Munda | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
| Governor of Manipur at the time of appointment. Subsequently transferred and appointed as the third Governor of Jharkhand in June 2003 to succeed Justice M. Rama Jois who was appointed as the Governor of Bihar. Briefly discharged the additional duties of the Governor of Bihar in November 2004 following the resignation of then governor M. Rama Jois and remained in office till the appointment of Buta Singh. Retired upon completion of tenure on 9 December 2004. | |||||||||
| 4 | .jpg) |
Syed Sibtey Razi सैयद सिब्ते रज़ी (1939–2022) |
Uttar Pradesh | 10 December 2004 |
25 July 2009 |
4 years, 227 days |
|
Arjun Munda | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
| Shibu Soren | |||||||||
| Arjun Munda | |||||||||
| Madhu Koda | |||||||||
| Shibu Soren | |||||||||
| Vacant | |||||||||
| Former Union Minister. Appointed as the fourth Governor of Jharkhand in December 2004 following the retirement of his predecessor, Ved Marwah. As the governor of the state, he was sparked controversy after inviting then opposition party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren to form the government in the aftermath of the 2005 state legislative assembly election thus rejecting the claim of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party which along with five other independents had 41 MLAs in the house. This resulted in dramatic political events which culminated with Soren failing to secure a vote of no-confidence leading to Arjun Munda being re-appointed as the Chief Minister. Later recommended President's rule in the state in January 2009 after the ruling party lost majority in the assembly. Continued to serve as the governor of the state until being transferred and appointed as the Governor of Assam in July 2009. | |||||||||
| 5 |  |
K. Sankaranarayanan के. शंकरनारायणन (1932–2022) |
Kerala | 26 July 2009 |
21 January 2010 |
179 days |
|
Vacant | Pratibha Patil |
| Shibu Soren | |||||||||
| Governor of Nagaland at the time of appointment. Transferred and appointed as the fifth Governor of Jharkhand in July 2009 to succeed Syed Sibtey Razi who was appointed as the Governor of Assam. Brief tenure as the governor of the state marked by events including the withdrawal of the President's Rule in the state and the re-appointment of Shibu Soren as the chief minister after the 2009 state election. Remained in office until being transferred as the Governor of Maharashtra in January 2010. | |||||||||
| 6 | .jpg) |
M. O. H. Farook एम. ओ. एच. फारूक (1937–2012) |
Puducherry | 22 January 2010 |
3 September 2011 |
1 year, 224 days |
|
Shibu Soren | Pratibha Patil |
| Vacant | |||||||||
| Arjun Munda | |||||||||
| Former Chief Minister of Puducherry. Appointed to serve as the sixth Governor of Jharkhand in January 2010 and succeeded K. Sankaranarayanan who was appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra. Recommended President's rule in the state in June 2010 after the government's loss of majority in the legislative assembly. Later appointed Hemant Soren of the BJP as the chief minister in September 2010 after the withdrawal of President's rule in the state. Continued to serve in office until being transferred as the Governor of Kerala in September 2011. | |||||||||
| 7 | .jpg) |
Syed Ahmed सैयद अहमद (1943–2015) |
Maharashtra | 4 September 2011[3] |
17 May 2015 |
3 years, 255 days |
|
Arjun Munda | Pratibha Patil |
| Vacant | |||||||||
| Hemant Soren | |||||||||
| Raghubar Das | |||||||||
| Former Maharashtra minister. Appointed as the seventh Governor of Jharkhand in September 2011 to succeed M. O. H. Farook who was appointed as the Governor of Kerala. During tenure as governor, recommended for President's rule in the state in January 2013 after the ruling government collapsed following the withdrawal of support by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leading to the resignation of chief minister Arjun Munda. President's rule ended in July 2013 with the appointment of JMM leader Hemant Soren as the chief minister. Continued to serve as the governor of the state until being transferred and appointed as the Governor of Manipur in May 2015. | |||||||||
| 8 |  |
Droupadi Murmu द्रौपदी मुर्मू (born 1958) |
Odisha | 18 May 2015[4] |
13 July 2021 |
6 years, 56 days |
|
Raghubar Das | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Hemant Soren | |||||||||
| Former Odisha BJP leader. Appointed to serve as the eighth Governor of Jharkhand in May 2015 to succeed Dr. Syed Ahmed who was transferred as the Governor of Manipur. First tribal woman to be appointed governor of any state and the first female governor of the state. Tenure marked by important and noteworthy events including her refusal to grant assent to bills seeking amendments to the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1948 and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1949 which were strongly opposed and protested against by the tribal community. First governor of the state to complete full term in office and the longest-serving governor of the state. Served in office until her retirement upon completion of tenure in May 2021. Later elected as the 15th President of India in July 2022. | |||||||||
| 9 |  |
Ramesh Bais रमेश बैस (born 1947) |
Chhattisgarh | 14 July 2021 |
17 February 2023 |
1 year, 218 days |
|
Hemant Soren | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Governor of Tripura at the time of appointment. Appointed to serve as the ninth Governor of Jharkhand in July 2021 to succeed Droupadi Murmu who had retired upon completion of tenure. Tenure as state governor marked by several noticeable tensions with state government led by chief minister Hemant Soren with prominent issues including the governor's failure to disclose the Election Commission's recommendation on Soren's continuation as MLA over a mining case. Also criticized the work culture in the state and flagged law and order as a significant problem in the state. Returned several legislations for consideration which were sent to him for assent including a bill seeking to form a Tribal Advisory Council. Remained in office until being transferred and appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra in February 2023. | |||||||||
| 10 |  |
C. P. Radhakrishnan सी. पी. राधाकृष्णन (born 1957) |
Tamil Nadu | 18 February 2023 |
30 July 2024 | 1 year, 160 days | Hemant Soren | Droupadi Murmu | |
| Champai Soren | |||||||||
| Hemant Soren | |||||||||
| Former BJP leader. Appointed to serve as the tenth governor of Jharkhand in February 2023 succeeding Ramesh Bais who was appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra.[5] As the state governor, played important role in reaching out to the local population and toured several villages which eventually resulted in several fallouts with the state government with the leaders of the ruling coalition accusing the governor of interfering in local politics. Transferred and appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra in July 2024. | |||||||||
| 11 | .jpg) |
Santosh Gangwar संतोष गंगवार (born 1948) |
Uttar Pradesh | 31 July 2024 | Incumbent | 140 days |
|
Hemant Soren | Droupadi Murmu |
| Former Union Minister. Appointed to serve as the eleventh governor of Jharkhand in July 2024 succeeding C. P. Radhakrishnan who was appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra. Currently serving in office. | |||||||||
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