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Chief Minister of Kerala

Head of the government of the Indian state of Kerala

Field	Value
post	Chief Minister of Kerala
insignia	Government of Kerala Logo.svg
native_name	Kēraḷa Mukhyamantri
insigniasize	250
insigniacaption	Emblem of Kerala
image	Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan 2023.tif
imagesize	200
incumbent	Pinarayi Vijayan
incumbentsince	25 May 2016
department	Chief Minister's Office
Kerala Council of Ministers
Executive branch of the Kerala Government
style	The Honourable (Formal)
Mr./Mrs. Chief Minister (Informal)
appointer	Governor of Kerala
abbreviation	CM
appointer_qualified	by convention, based on appointee's ability to command confidence in the Niyama Sabha
member_of
termlength	At the pleasure of the governor of Kerala
formation
residence	Cliff House, Thiruvananthapuram
seat	Kerala Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram
precursor	Prime minister of Travancore
Prime minister of Kingdom of Cochin
Chief Minister of Madras
Chief ministers of Travancore-Cochin
deputy	Vacant
salary	*/monthly
website
type	Head of government
reports_to
nominator	Members of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
first	E. M. S. Namboodiripad (1957–1959)
termlength_qualified
constituting_instrument	Article 164 of the Constitution of India

Kerala Council of Ministers Executive branch of the Kerala Government Mr./Mrs. Chief Minister (Informal) Prime minister of Kingdom of Cochin Chief Minister of Madras Chief ministers of Travancore-Cochin

/annually

The Chief Minister of Kerala is the head of government of the Indian state of Kerala. As per the Constitution of India, the state's governor is the state's de jure head, and the de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits. Usually, the chief minister also serves as leader of the house in the legislative assembly.

Following India's independence from the British Raj in 1947, the states' monarchs of Travancore (Thiruvithāmkōr) and Cochin (Kochi) instituted a measure of representative government, headed by a prime minister and his council of ministers. On 1 July 1949, Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin state. The Malabar and Kasaragod region of South Canara, which together constitute more than half of present state of Kerala, had their representatives in the Madras Legislative Assembly. On 1 November 1956, the States Reorganisation Act redrew India's map along linguistic lines, and the present-day state of Kerala was born, consisting of Malayalam-speaking regions, by merging the Malabar, and Kasaragod districts with Travancore-Cochin.

The first assembly election in Kerala was held in February–March 1957, and the first Kerala Legislative Assembly was formed on 5 April 1957. The assembly had 127 members including a nominated member. E. M. S. Namboodiripad of the Communist Party of India, was the first chief minister, and his tenure was cut short by the imposition of President's rule. Since then, 12 people have served as the chief minister of Kerala. E. K. Nayanar held the office for 10 years and 353 days, and is the longest serving holder of the office. Karunakaran was sworn-in as the chief minister four times. A. K. Antony was the youngest to hold the office at age of 36 years, and V. S. Achuthanandan was the oldest to be sworn in at the age of 82 years. The state has come under President's rule seven times, with the last of them occurring in 1982. Since the 1980s, the office of the chief minister has generally alternated between the leaders of the Indian National Congress and of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Pinarayi Vijayan is the incumbent chief minister since 25 May 2016, and is the first chief minister from Kerala to be re-elected after completing a full term of 5 years.

Predecessors

Assassinated or died in office
Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term
Resigned
Resigned following a no-confidence motion

Prime ministers of Travancore (1948–49)

No	Portrait	Name	Term of Office	Assembly	Appointed by	Party
1	[[File:Pattom A. Thanu Pillai.jpg	100x100px]]	Pattom A. Thanu Pillai	24 March 1948	17 October 1948		Representative Body (1948–49)
2		Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai	22 October 1948	1 July 1949

Prime ministers of Cochin (1947–49)

No	Portrait	Name	Term of Office	Assembly	Appointed by
1	[[File:P._Govinda_Menon_official_portrait.gif	70px]]	P. Govinda Menon	14 August 1947	22 October 1947	6th
Council
(1945–48)
2		T. K. Nair	27 October 1947	20 September 1948
3	[[File:Ikkanda variar.jpg	136x136px]]	E. Ikkanda Warrier	20 September 1948	1 July 1949	Legislative Assembly (1948–49)

Prime ministers of Travancore-Cochin (1949–50)

No	Portrait	Name	Term of Office	Assembly	Appointed by	Party
1		Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai	1 July 1949	26 January 1950		1st

Chief ministers of Travancore-Cochin (1950–56)

After India's independence in 1947, Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin on 1 July 1949. On 1 January 1950, Travancore-Cochin was recognised as a state.

No	Portrait	Name	Term of Office	Assembly	Appointed by	Party
1		Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai	26 January 1950	28 February 1951		1st
2	[[File:C Kesavan.jpg	85x85px]]	C. Kesavan	28 February 1951	12 March 1952
3		A. J. John	12 March 1952	16 March 1954		2nd
(1951 election)
4	[[File:Pattom A. Thanu Pillai.jpg	100x100px]]	Pattom A. Thanu Pillai	16 March 1954	10 February 1955		3rd
(1954 election)
5		P. Govinda Menon	10 February 1955	23 March 1956		Indian National Congress
–	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	120x120px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	23 March 1956	31 October 1956		Dissolved

Chief ministers of Kerala

On 1 November 1956, Government of India enacted the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 by which a new Kerala state was formed by the merger of Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district and Kasaragod taluk of South Canara district of the Madras State. The southern part of Travancore-Cochin, Kanyakumari district, along with Sengottai Taluk was transferred to Madras state and the Laccadive and Minicoy Islands were separated from Malabar district to form a new Union Territory. A new Legislative Assembly was also created, for which elections were held in 1957.

No	Portrait	Name	Constituency	Tenure	Assembly
(election)	Ministry	Party	1	2	3	(1)	4	(4)	5	6	7	8	9	(5)	(5)	(9)	(5)	(6)	(9)	(6)	10	11	(10)	12
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	1 November 1956	5 April 1957		Dissolved	N/A
[[File:E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg	100px]]	E. M. S. Namboodiripad	Nileshwaram	5 April 1957	31 July 1959		1st
(1957 election)	Namboodiripad I	Communist Party of India	Communist Party of India}}"
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	31 July 1959	22 February 1960		Dissolved	N/A
[[File:Pattom A. Thanu Pillai.jpg	100px]]	P. A. Thanu Pillai	Thiruvananthapuram II	22 February 1960	26 September 1962		2nd
(1960 election)	Thanu Pillai	Praja Socialist Party	Praja Socialist Party}}"
[[File:R. Sankar (cropped).jpg	100px]]	R. Sankar	Kannur I	26 September 1962	10 September 1964		Sankar	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	10 September 1964	25 March 1965		Dissolved	N/A
25 March 1965	6 March 1967	Dissolved
(1965 election)
[[File:E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg	100px]]	E. M. S. Namboodiripad	Pattambi	6 March 1967	1 November 1969		3rd
(1967 election)	Namboodiripad II	Communist Party of India
(Marxist)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"
[[File:C. Achutha Menon.jpg	100px]]	C. Achutha Menon	Kottarakkara	1 November 1969	3 August 1970		Achutha Menon I	Communist Party of India	Communist Party of India}}"
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	4 August 1970	3 October 1970		Dissolved	N/A
[[File:C. Achutha Menon.jpg	100px]]	C. Achutha Menon	Kodakara	4 October 1970	25 March 1977		4th
(1970 election)	Achutha Menon II	Communist Party of India	Communist Party of India}}"
[[File:Karunakaran Kannoth.jpg	100px]]	K. Karunakaran	Mala	25 March 1977	27 April 1977		5th
(1977 election)	Karunakaran I	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
[[File:AK Antony at Ponnani.jpg	100px]]	A. K. Antony	Kazhakootam	27 April 1977	29 October 1978		Antony I
[[File:P.K. Vasudevan Nair.jpg	100px]]	P. K. Vasudevan Nair	Alappuzha	29 October 1978	12 October 1979		Vasudevan Nair	Communist Party of India	Communist Party of India}}"
[[File:Indian Union Muslim League leader C. H. Mohammed Koya.jpg	100px]]	C. H. Mohammed Koya	Malappuram	12 October 1979	4 December 1979		Koya	Indian Union Muslim League	Indian Union Muslim League}}"
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	5 December 1979	25 January 1980		Dissolved	N/A
[[File:E.K.Nayanar 1.jpg	100px]]	E. K. Nayanar	Malampuzha	25 January 1980	20 October 1981		6th
(1980 election)	Nayanar I	Communist Party of India
(Marxist)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	21 October 1981	28 December 1981		N/A
[[File:Karunakaran Kannoth.jpg	100px]]	K. Karunakaran	Mala	28 December 1981	17 March 1982		Karunakaran II	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
	[[File:Emblem_of_India.svg	75px]]	Vacant
(President's rule)	N/A	17 March 1982	23 May 1982		Dissolved	N/A
[[File:Karunakaran Kannoth.jpg	100px]]	K. Karunakaran	Mala	24 May 1982	26 March 1987		7th
(1982 election)	Karunakaran III	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
[[File:E.K.Nayanar 1.jpg	100px]]	E. K. Nayanar	Thrikaripur	26 March 1987	24 June 1991		8th
(1987 election)	Nayanar II	Communist Party of India
(Marxist)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"
[[File:Karunakaran Kannoth.jpg	100px]]	K. Karunakaran	Mala	24 June 1991	22 March 1995		9th
(1991 election)	Karunakaran IV	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
[[File:AK Antony at Ponnani.jpg	100px]]	A. K. Antony	Tirurangadi	22 March 1995	20 May 1996		Antony II
[[File:E.K.Nayanar 1.jpg	100px]]	E. K. Nayanar	Thalassery	20 May 1996	17 May 2001		10th
(1996 election)	Nayanar III	Communist Party of India
(Marxist)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"
[[File:AK Antony at Ponnani.jpg	100px]]	A. K. Antony	Cherthala	17 May 2001	31 August 2004		11th
(2001 election)	Antony III	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
[[File:Oommen Chandy (cropped).jpg	100px]]	Oommen Chandy	Puthuppally	31 August 2004	18 May 2006		Chandy I
[[File:V. S. Achuthanandan 2016.jpg	100px]]	V. S. Achuthanandan	Malampuzha	18 May 2006	18 May 2011		12th
(2006 election)	Achuthanandan	Communist Party of India
(Marxist)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"
[[File:Oommen Chandy (cropped).jpg	100px]]	Oommen Chandy	Puthuppally	18 May 2011	25 May 2016		13th
(2011 election)	Chandy II	Indian National Congress	Indian National Congress}}"
[[File:Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan 2023.tif	100px]]	Pinarayi Vijayan	Dharmadam	25 May 2016	19 May 2021		14th
(2016 election)	Pinarayi I	Communist Party of India
(Marxist)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"
20 May 2021	Incumbent	15th
(2021 election)	Pinarayi II

Statistics

;List of chief ministers by length of term

No.	Name	Party	Length of term	No: of terms	Longest
continuous term	Total years
of premiership	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	CPI(M)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"		4 years, 361 days	10 years, 353 days	3
****	CPI(M)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"		****	****	2
	INC	Indian National Congress}}"		4 years, 305 days	8 years, 315 days	4
	CPI	Communist Party of India}}"		6 years, 172 days	7 years, 80 days	2
	INC	Indian National Congress}}"		5 years, 6 days	6 years, 256 days	2
	INC	Indian National Congress}}"		3 years, 105 days	5 years, 347 days	3
	CPI(M)	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"		4 years, 364 days	4 years, 364 days	1
	CPI(M)/CPI	Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}"		2 years 240 days	4 years 357 days	2
	PSP	Praja Socialist Party}}"		2 years 216 days	2 years 216 days	1
	INC	Indian National Congress}}"		1 year 350 days	1 year 350 days	1
	CPI	Communist Party of India}}"		347 days	347 days	1
	IUML	Indian Union Muslim League}}"		53 days	53 days	1

;List by party

No.	Political party	Number of chief ministers
Communist Party of India (Marxist)	4	days
Indian National Congress	4	days
Communist Party of India	3	days
Praja Socialist Party	1	days
Indian Union Muslim League	1	days

Timeline

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Define $start = 1880 Define $end = 2030 Define $now =

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bar:10 width:18 color:BEFORECMOKL align:left fontsize:M from:1943.1667 till:2004.7 shift:(-45,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Oommen Chandy color:CMOKL from:2004.7 till:2006.5 color:AFTERCMOKL from:2006.5 till:2011.5 color:CMOKL from:2011.5 till:2016.5 color:AFTERCMOKL from:2016.5 till:2023.01

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TextData = pos:(320,$height) fontsize:L textcolor:black text:"Lifespan of each Chief Minister of Kerala"

Notes

References

"Article 164 in constitution of India". [[Constitution of India]].
Durga Das Basu. (1960). "Introduction to the Constitution of India". [[LexisNexis.
"Leader of the House". [[Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly]].
(January 2007). "Kerala Charitram". DC Books.
K. Diwanji, Amberish. (15 March 2005). "A dummy's guide to President's rule". [[Rediff.com]].
"The States Reorganisation Act, 1956". Government of India.
"Seventh Amendment, 1956". Government of India.

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