The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

of the Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

and a representative of the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. His official residence is the

Raj Bhavan Raj Bhavan () is the common name of the official residences of the governors of the states of India and may refer to: List of Raj Bhavan See also *Raj Niwas * Rashtrapati Bhavan * Rashtrapati Nilayam *Rashtrapati Niwas The Rashtrapati Niw ...

. C. V. Ananda Bose was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal on 23 November 2022.

History

In 1911 the

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

capital of India was moved from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and as some compensation to

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

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 ...

with council gave place to a governor with a council thus completing the circle and reverting to the position which had been obtained 200 years ago. In 1947 India achieved

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

and the title of ''Governor of Bengal'' remained.

Powers and functions

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.

''Ex officio'' Role of Governor

In his ''ex officio'' capacity, the Governor of West Bengal is Chancellor of the universities of West Bengal (at present 16) as per the Acts of the Universities. The Universities are:

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

; Jadavpur University; Presidency University, Kolkata;

University of Kalyani The University of Kalyani, established in 1960, is a Government of West Bengal administered, UGC affiliated, NAAC accredited, collegiate Public Research university in Kalyani, West Bengal, India. It offers courses at the Undergraduate, Post ...

; Rabindra Bharati University;

Vidyasagar University Vidyasagar University was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature which was notified in the '' Calcutta Gazette'' on 24 June 1981. It is an affiliating university in Paschim Medinipur district of southern West Bengal, India. It ...

; University of Burdwan; North Bengal University; Netaji Subhas Open University; Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology;

Aliah University Aliah University (AU; ur, جامعہ عالیہ) is a state government controlled autonomous university in New Town, West Bengal, India. Previously known as Mohammedan College of Calcutta, it was elevated to university in 2008. It offers ...

; Bankura University; Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University; Diamond Harbour Women's University; University of Gour Banga; Kazi Nazrul University;

Raiganj University Raiganj University is a public state university in Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest higher educational institution in the North Dinajpur district. This institution was elevated to the status of a public s ...

; Sidho Kanho Birsha University; Sanskrit College and University;

West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Education Planning and Administration West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Education Planning and Administration (WBUTTEPA) was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, 16 January 2015. This is the first univer ...

;

Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (English: North Bengal Agricultural University) is a public state agricultural university in Pundibari about 11 km North-West of Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India. It offers degree courses in Agricultural ...

; Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya;

West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences The West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences (WBUAFS) is a public state veterinary university in West Bengal, India. It was established on 2 January 1995 by an Act of the West Bengal legislature. It imparts education and traini ...

;

West Bengal University of Health Sciences West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS) is a Public medical university in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 2003 by an Act of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for better management of the health and medical edu ...

and

West Bengal State University West Bengal State University (WBSU) is a public university situated in Berunanpukuria, North 24 Paraganas, West Bengal, India. It was established by an Act of the Legislative Assembly on 2007. History The Government of West Bengal through a ...

. For

Visva Bharati Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the ...

, the Governor is the Pradhana ( Rector). The Governor is also the Chairman / President of some organizations such as Victoria Memorial Hall, Indian Museum,

Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture (RMIC) in Kolkata, India, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission founded on 29 January 1938 as an outcome of the commemoration of Sri Ramakrishna's Birth Centenary Celebrations, the institute has g ...

, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS), Calcutta Cultural Centre (Kolkata Kala Kendra), Special Fund for R&R of Ex-servicemen, West Bengal Rajya Sainik Board, Sri Aurobindo Samiti, Indian Red Cross Society - West Bengal State Branch, St. John Ambulance Brigade No. II (West Bengal) District,

Bharat Scouts and Guides Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bha ...

and the Bengal Tuberculosis Association. Governor of West Bengal’s Welfare Fund, has the governor as its chairman. Contributions from this Fund are given to the needy people for meeting, to some extent the cost of their treatment. Besides the above, at his discretion, the Governor, accepts the position of Chief Patron/Patron or other posts in the honorary capacity, in various organizations that are rendering

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

service to the society in different fields.

List of governors

References

External links

Raj Bhavan's (Governor's residence) official website

*

{{West Bengal Governors