Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

(formerly known as "Pondicherry") is a Union Territory of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Governance and administration of the territory fall directly under federal authority.

Chief Commissioner (1954 1963)

After the ''de facto'' transfer of French settlements in India, on November 1, 1954, a ''Chief Commissioner'', appointed by Government of India, replaced the last '' Commissioner of French India'', Georges Escargueil. The first High Commissioner,

Kewal Singh Kewal Singh Choudhary (1915–1991) was an Indian diplomat, Foreign Secretary and India's ambassador to the USSR, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and USA. He was a 1955 recipient of the Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri. Early l ...

was appointed immediately after the ''Kizhoor referendum'', on 21 October 1954, as per ''Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947''. The Chief Commissioner had the powers of the former French commissioner, but was under the direct control of the Union Government. The list of Chief Commissioners is given below.

Lieutenant Governors

The

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Puducherry resides at the Raj Nivas (french: Le Palais du Gouverneur) at the Nehru Park, the former palace of the Governor General of French India. The Central government is more directly involved in the financial well-being of the territory. After de jure transfer in 1962, the State of Pondicherry is fully and legally integrated into Indian Union. After the formation of Union territory on July 1, 1963, the Lieutenant Governor has replaced High Commissioner in Pondicherry. Only five Lt. Governors managed to serve more than four years. They are

S.L. Silam Sayaji Laxman Silam (born 18 May 1896) was the first Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Union Territory in India. He was Lt. Governor for First and Second assemblies of Puducherry Union Territory (U.T.). He was member of Legislative Assembly o ...

, B.D.Jatti, B.T. Kulkarni,

Rajani Rai Rajani Rai was a former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and an academic. She was governor from 23 April 1998 to 29 July 2002. She was from Nagpur, Maharashtra. She was a member of leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party ...

and

Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from 2 ...

. Only S.L. Silam completed his 5-year term. Kiran Bedi is second longest serving Lt. Governor till date. The list of Lt. Governors of Puducherry is given below.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Lieutenant Governors Of Puducherry State political office-holders in India Puducherry-related lists

Chief Commissioner (1954 1963)

Lieutenant Governors

Notes

See also

References