The
chief minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...
, formerly known as the chief minister of Mysore, is the
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
of the
Indian state of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...
. As per the
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
, the
governor of Karnataka
The Governor of Karnataka is the constitutional head of the India, 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' ...
is the state's ''
de jure
In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...
'' head, but ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' executive authority rests with the chief minister, a template applicable to all other Indian states. Following elections to the
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses. The two houses ar ...
, the governor usually invites the political party (or a coalition of political parties) with a majority of assembly seats to form the government in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose
council of ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
is
collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years, renewable, and is subject to no
term limits
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential ...
.
Durga Das Basu
Durga Das Basu (1910–1997) was an Indian jurist and lawyer. He wrote the ''Commentary on the Constitution of India'' and ''Casebook on the Indian Constitutional Law''. The former is one of the most important textbooks in social sciences and l ...
. ''Introduction to the Constitution of India''. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. . Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Karnataka as well.
Historically, this office replaced that of the
diwan of Mysore
The diwan of Mysore, also spelled dewan of Mysore, synonymously the prime minister of Mysore, was the ''de-facto'' chief executive officer of the government of the Kingdom of Mysore and the prime minister and royal adviser to the Maharaja of My ...
of the erstwhile
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...
with
India's constitution into a republic. Since 1947, there have been a total of twenty-three chief ministers of Mysore (as the state was known before 1 November 1973) or chief ministers of Karnataka. A majority of them belonged to the
Indian National Congress (INC) party, including the inaugural officeholder
K. C. Reddy. The longest-serving chief minister,
D. Devaraj Urs
Devaraj Devaraj Urs (20 August 1915 – 6 June 1982) was an Indian politician who served two terms as the eighth Chief Minister of Karnataka (1972–77, 1978–80), a state in southern India. He is also the longest serving Chief Minister of Ka ...
, held the office for over seven years in the 1970s. INC's
Veerendra Patil
Veerendra Basappa Patil (Kannada: ವೀರೇಂದ್ರ ಪಾಟೀಲ್; 28 February 1924 – 14 March 1997) was a senior Indian politician and was twice, the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He became Chief Minister for the first time fr ...
had the largest gap between two terms (over eighteen years). One chief minister,
H. D. Deve Gowda, went on to become the eleventh
prime minister of India
The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...
, whereas another,
B. D. Jatti, served as the country's fifth
vice president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...
.
B. S. Yediyurappa who was the first chief minister from the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP), served as the chief minister of the state for four terms in 2007, 2008, 2018 and 2019, the only one to do so in the history of Karnataka. In total, Yediyurappa ruled the state for 5 years, 75 days and went on to be the fourth longest-serving chief minister after
D. Devaraj Urs
Devaraj Devaraj Urs (20 August 1915 – 6 June 1982) was an Indian politician who served two terms as the eighth Chief Minister of Karnataka (1972–77, 1978–80), a state in southern India. He is also the longest serving Chief Minister of Ka ...
,
S. Nijalingappa, and
Ramakrishna Hegde
Ramakrishna Mahabaleshwar Hegde (29 August 1926 – 12 January 2004) was an Indian politician who served as the tenth Chief Minister of Karnataka for three terms between 1983 and 1988. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 19 ...
.
S. R. Bommai was the chief minister from the
Janata Parivar
Janata Parivar Alliance is an alliance in Indian politics to describe the various political parties that emerged from Janata Dal or others. The Janata Parivar includes, amongst others, Janata Dal (United) and Janata Dal (Secular).
On 14 Ap ...
, whose son
Basavaraj Bommai, too, became chief minister from BJP. There have been six instances of
president's rule in Karnataka, most recently from 2007 to 2008. The
incumbent chief minister is
Basavaraj Bommai from the BJP, sworn in on 28 July 2021.
Chief ministers of Mysore State
Chief ministers of Coorg State
Chief ministers of Karnataka
Timeline
Statistics
;List of chief ministers by length of term
See also
*
Deputy chief minister of Karnataka
The Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka is a member of the Cabinet in the Government of Karnataka. Not technically a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers. A deputy Chief minister usually also holds a key cabinet portfolio ...
*
Diwan of Mysore
The diwan of Mysore, also spelled dewan of Mysore, synonymously the prime minister of Mysore, was the ''de-facto'' chief executive officer of the government of the Kingdom of Mysore and the prime minister and royal adviser to the Maharaja of My ...
*
List of Diwans of Mysore
The following lists the dalvoys and Diwans of the Kingdom of Mysore from the 18th century to the 20th.
See also
* List of chief ministers of Karnataka
* Prime Minister of Hyderabad
* List of Diwans of Travancore
References
{{Reflist
E ...
*
List of deputy chief ministers of Karnataka
Notes

;Footnotes
;References
{{reflist
Chief Ministers
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...
Karnataka politics-related lists