List of female Indian governors and lieutenant governors


In India, a governor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty-eight states. 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 head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected council of ministers, headed by the chief minister, who thus hold de facto executive authority at the state-level. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to act upon his or her own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the President's assent. Over the years, the exercise of these discretionary powers have given rise to conflict between the elected chief minister and the union government–appointed governor. The union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry are headed by lieutenant governors.
Sarojini Naidu was the first female to become the governor of an Indian state. She governed Uttar Pradesh from 15 August 1947 to 2 March 1949. Her daughter, Padmaja Naidu, is the longest-serving female governor with 11-year tenure in West Bengal. Tamilisai Soundararajan is the recentmost appointment as the first female governor of Telangana.

Governors

;Key
incumbent governor
S. No.NameFromToTerm lengthState
1Sarojini Naidu15 August 19472 March 1949Uttar Pradesh
2Padmaja Naidu3 November 195631 May 1967West Bengal
3Vijayalakshmi Pandit28 November 196218 October 1964Maharashtra
4Sharda Mukherjee5 May 197714 August 1978Andhra Pradesh
4Sharda Mukherjee14 August 19785 August 1983Gujarat
5Jothi Venkatachalam14 October 197727 October 1982Kerala
6Kumudben Joshi26 November 19852 February 1990Andhra Pradesh
7Ram Dulari Sinha23 February 198812 February 1990Kerala
8Sarla Grewal31 March 19895 February 1990Madhya Pradesh
9Sheila Kaul17 November 199523 April 1996Himachal Pradesh
10Fathima Beevi25 January 19971 July 2001Tamil Nadu
11V. S. Ramadevi26 July 19971 December 1999Himachal Pradesh
11V. S. Ramadevi2 December 199920 August 2002Karnataka
12Pratibha Patil8 November 200423 June 2007Rajasthan
13Prabha Rau19 July 200824 January 2010Himachal Pradesh
13Prabha Rau25 January 201026 April 2010Rajasthan
14Margaret Alva6 August 200914 May 2012Uttarakhand
14Margaret Alva12 May 20127 August 2014Rajasthan
15Kamla Beniwal27 November 20096 July 2014Gujarat
15Kamla Beniwal6 July 20146 August 2014Mizoram
16Urmila Singh25 January 201027 January 2015Himachal Pradesh
17Sheila Dikshit11 March 201425 August 2014Kerala
18Mridula Sinha31 August 20142 November 2019Goa
19Draupadi Murmu*18 May 2015incumbentJharkhand
20Najma Heptulla*21 August 2016incumbentManipur
21Anandiben Patel*-----
21Anandiben Patel*23 January 201828 July 2019Madhya Pradesh
21Anandiben Patel*15 August 201828 July 2019Chhattisgarh
21Anandiben Patel*29 July 2019incumbentUttar Pradesh
22Baby Rani Maurya*26 August 2018incumbentUttarakhand
23Anusuiya Uikey*29 July 2019incumbentChhattisgarh
24Tamilisai Soundararajan*8 September 2019incumbentTelangana

Lieutenant governors

;Key
incumbent lieutenant governor
S. No.NameFromToTerm lengthUnion territory
1Chandrawati19 February 199018 December 1990Puducherry
2Rajendra Kumari Bajpai2 May 199522 April 1998Puducherry
3Rajani Rai23 April 199829 July 2002Puducherry
4Kiran Bedi*29 May 2016incumbentPuducherry