Chief Minister of Puducherry

Since 1963, Puducherry has had 10 chief ministers. The longest-serving and current chief minister, N. Rangasamy from the All India N.R. Congress (AINRC), held the office for over seventeen years in multiple tenures. M. O. H. Farook and V. Vaithilingam from the Indian National Congress (INC) have the second- and third-longest tenures, respectively. The first holder Edouard Goubert from the INC has the shortest tenure (only 1 year, 71 days). There have been seven instances of president's rule in Puducherry, most recently in 2021, which occurred due to political instability and the inability of the legislative assembly to function effectively.

The current incumbent is N. Rangasamy of the All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) since 7 May 2021.

Predecessors

The French settlements in India were in a transition period between the de facto transfer day (i.e., 1 November 1954) and the de jure transfer day (i.e., 16 August 1962). In January 1955, the government of India, by an order, renamed these four French settlements in India as the State of Pondicherry. Both these transfer days are official holidays within the union territory of Puducherry.

Enactment of the Government of Union Territories Act

On 10 May 1963, the government of India enacted the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963, which came into force on 1 July 1963. It introduced the same pattern of government that prevailed in the rest of the country but was subject to certain limitations. Under Article 239 of the Indian Constitution, the president of India appoints the lieutenant governor of Puducherry with such designation as he may specify to head the administration of the territory. The president of India appoints the chief minister, along with their council of ministers.

Also, the representative assembly was converted into the legislative assembly of Pondicherry on 1 July 1963 as per Section 54(3) of the Union Territories Act, 1963, and its members were deemed to have been elected to the assembly. Thus, the first legislative assembly was formed without an election. Elections for the assembly have been held since 1964.