| Post: | Governor |
| Insigniasize: | 180 |
| Insigniacaption: | Emblem of West Bengal |
| Incumbent: | C. V. Ananda Bose |
| Abbreviation: | GoWB |
| Style: | The Honourable Mr. Governor His/Her Excellency |
| Residence: | |
| Termlength: | Five years |
| Appointer: | President of India |
| Precursor: | Governor-General of India |
| Salary: | (per month) |
| Inaugural: | Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari |
| Body: | West Bengal |
| Status: | Head of state |
The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of the Government of West Bengal. In the capacity of governor, the holder of the aforementioned is the constitutional representative of the President of India (the Union Government) in the state of West Bengal. C. V. Ananda Bose is the incumbent governor, having taken office on 18 November 2022.[1]
In 1911 the imperial capital of India was moved from Calcutta to Delhi and as some compensation to Bengal the lieutenant governor 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 and the title of Governor of Bengal remained.
The governor enjoys many different types of powers:
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; Jadavpur University; Presidency University, Kolkata; University of Kalyani; Rabindra Bharati University; Vidyasagar University; University of Burdwan; North Bengal University; Netaji Subhas Open University; Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology; Aliah University; Bankura University; Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University; Diamond Harbour Women's University; University of Gour Banga; Kazi Nazrul University; Raiganj University; Sidho Kanho Birsha University; Sanskrit College and University; West Bengal University of Teachers' Training, Education Planning and Administration; Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya; Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya; West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences; West Bengal University of Health Sciences and West Bengal State University. For Visva Bharati, the governor is the Pradhana (Rector).
The governor is also the chairman or president of some organizations, such as Victoria Memorial Hall, Indian Museum, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 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 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 service to the society in different fields.
| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Appointer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord Brabourne | 30 May 1937 | 23 February 1939 | The Marquess of Linlithgow | |
| Sir John Arthur Herbert | 1 July 1939 | 1 December 1943 | ||
| The Lord Casey | 14 January 1944 | 19 February 1946 | The Viscount Wavell | |
| Sir Frederick John Burrows | 19 February 1946 | 15 August 1947 |
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Duration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 August 1947 | 21 June 1948 | ||||
| 2 | Kailash Nath Katju | 21 June 1948 | 1 November 1951 | |||
| 3 | Harendra Coomar Mookerjee | 1 November 1951 | 8 August 1956 | |||
| – | Phani Bhusan Chakravartti (acting) | 8 August 1956 | 3 November 1956 | |||
| 4 | Padmaja Naidu | 3 November 1956 | 1 June 1967 | |||
| 5 | Dharma Vira | 1 June 1967 | 1 April 1969 | |||
| – | Deep Narayan Sinha (acting) | 1 April 1969 | 19 September 1969 | |||
| 6 | Shanti Swaroop Dhavan | 19 September 1969 | 21 August 1971 | |||
| 7 | Anthony Lancelot Dias | 21 August 1971 | 6 November 1979 | |||
| 8 | Tribhuvana Narayana Singh | 6 November 1979 | 12 September 1981 | |||
| 9 | Bhairab Dutt Pande | 12 September 1981 | 10 October 1983 | |||
| 10 | Anant Prasad Sharma | 10 October 1983 | 16 August 1984 | |||
| — | Satish Chandra (acting) | 16 August 1984 | 1 October 1984 | |||
| 11 | Uma Shankar Dikshit | 1 October 1984 | 12 August 1986 | |||
| 12 | Saiyid Nurul Hasan | 12 August 1986 | 20 March 1989 | |||
| 13 | T. V. Rajeswar | 20 March 1989 | 7 February 1990 | |||
| (12) | Saiyid Nurul Hasan | 7 February 1990 | 12 July 1993 | |||
| – | B. Satyanarayan Reddy (additional charge) | 13 July 1993 | 14 August 1993 | |||
| 14 | K. V. Raghunatha Reddy | 14 August 1993 | 27 April 1998 | |||
| 15 | Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai | 27 April 1998 | 18 May 1999 | |||
| 16 | Shyamal Kumar Sen | 18 May 1999 | 4 December 1999 | |||
| 17 | Viren J. Shah | 4 December 1999 | 14 December 2004 | |||
| 18 | Gopalkrishna Gandhi | 14 December 2004 | 14 December 2009 | |||
| – | Devanand Konwar (additional charge) | 14 December 2009 | 23 January 2010 | |||
| 19 | M.K. Narayanan | 24 January 2010 | 30 June 2014 | |||
| — | D. Y. Patil (additional charge)[2] | 3 July 2014 | 17 July 2014 | |||
| 20 | Keshari Nath Tripathi | 24 July 2014 | 29 July 2019 | |||
| 21 | Jagdeep Dhankhar[3] | 30 July 2019 | 17 July 2022 | |||
| — | La. Ganesan (additional charge) | 18 July 2022 | 17 November 2022 | |||
| 22 | C. V. Ananda Bose | 18 November 2022 | Incumbent |