List of chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh
| Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of Himachal Pradesh | |
| Status | Head of Government |
| Abbreviation | CM |
| Member of | |
| Reports to |
|
| Residence | Oakover, Shimla |
| Appointer | Governor of Himachal Pradesh |
| Term length | five years and is subject to no term limits.[1] |
| Precursor |
|
| Inaugural holder | Yashwant Singh Parmar |
| Formation | 8 March 1952 |
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the state's 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.[1]
Since 1952, six people have been Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Three of these belonged to the Indian National Congress party, including inaugural office-holder Yashwant Singh Parmar. After his first term ended in 1956, Himachal Pradesh was made a union territory, and the office of Chief Minister ceased to exist. In 1963, Parmar once again became Chief Minister, and during his reign, in 1971, Himachal regained full statehood. Until March 2015, when he was surpassed by Virbhadra Singh, Parmar was the state's longest-serving chief minister. Between 1993-2017, the chief ministership has changed hands every five years between Virbhadra Singh of the Congress and Prem Kumar Dhumal of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The current incumbent is Jai Ram Thakur of the Bharatiya Janata Party having been sworn in on 27 December 2017.
Chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (1952–56)[]
The Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15 April 1948 through integration of 30 erstwhile princely-states. In 1951, Himachal Pradesh become a Part C state, under the Government of Part C State, 1951 and was brought under a Lt. Governor with 36 member Legislative Assembly. First elections to the Assembly were held in 1952.[2] The Indian National Congress won 24 seats to form a government under Yashwant Singh Parmar.
In 1954, Bilaspur, another part-C State, was merged with Himachal Pradesh. In 1956 it was made a Union Territory and was placed under a Lt. Governor with a Territorial Council with limited powers.[3]
| List of chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (1951–56)
(Part 'C' State) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No[a] | Portrait | Name | Constituency | Term of office | Assembly
(election) |
Party[b] | |||
| From | To | Days in office | |||||||
| 1 | 
|
Yashwant Singh Parmar | Pachhad | 8 March 1952 | 31 October 1956 | 4 years, 237 days | Legislative
Assembly |
Indian | |
| Office abolished, 1956–63
(Himachal Pradesh became a Union Territory) | |||||||||
Chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (1963–present)[]
In 1963, Himachal Pradesh though being a Union Territory was provided with a Legislative Assembly. The Territorial Council was converted into the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory. The assembly has its first sitting on 1 October 1971.[2] On 18th December, 1970 the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971. Thus Himachal Pradesh emerged as the 18th state of Indian Union.[4]
| List of chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (1963–71)
(Union Territory with Legislature) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No[a] | Portrait | Name | Constituency | Term of office | Assembly
(election) |
Party[c] | |||
| From | To | Days in office | |||||||
| (1) |
|
Yashwant Singh Parmar | Renuka | 1 July 1963 | 4 March 1967 | 7 years, 208 days | 1st
(Territorial Council) |
Indian National Congress | |
| 4 March 1967 | 25 January 1971 | 2nd | |||||||
| List of chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (1971–present)
(State) | |||||||||
| (1) |
|
Yashwant Singh Parmar | Renuka | 25 January 1971 | 10 March 1972 | 6 years, 3 days | 2nd | Indian National Congress | |
| 10 March 1972 | 28 January 1977 | 3rd | |||||||
| 2 | 
|
Thakur Ram Lal | Jubbal Kotkhai | 28 January 1977 | 30 April 1977 | 92 days | |||
| – |  |
Vacant[d] (President's rule) |
N/A | 30 April 1977 | 22 June 1977 | 53 days | Dissolved | N/A | |
| 3 | 
|
Shanta Kumar | Sullah | 22 June 1977 | 14 February 1980 | 2 years, 237 days | 4th | Janata Party | |
| (2) |
|
Thakur Ram Lal | Jubbal Kotkhai | 14 February 1980 | 15 June 1982 | 3 years, 52 days | Indian National Congress | ||
| 15 June 1982 | 7 April 1983 | 5th | |||||||
| 4 | 
|
Virbhadra Singh | Jubbal Kotkhai | 8 April 1983 | 8 March 1985 | 6 years, 331 days | |||
| 8 March 1985 | 5 March 1990 | 6th | |||||||
| (3) |
|
Shanta Kumar | Palampur | 5 March 1990 | 15 December 1992 | 2 years, 285 days | 7th | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| – | |
Vacant[d] (President's rule) |
N/A | 15 December 1992 | 3 December 1993 | 353 days | Dissolved | N/A | |
| (4) |
|
Virbhadra Singh | Rohru | 3 December 1993 | 23 March 1998 | 4 years, 110 days | 8th | Indian National Congress | |
| 5 | 
|
Prem Kumar Dhumal | Bamsan | 24 March 1998 | 5 March 2003 | 4 years, 346 days | 9th | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| (4) |
|
Virbhadra Singh | Rohru | 6 March 2003 | 30 December 2007 | 4 years, 299 days | 10th | Indian National Congress | |
| (5) |
|
Prem Kumar Dhumal | Bamsan | 30 December 2007 | 25 December 2012 | 4 years, 361 days | 11th | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| (4) |
|
Virbhadra Singh | Shimla Rural | 25 December 2012 | 27 December 2017 | 5 years, 2 days | 12th | Indian National Congress | |
| 6 | 
|
Jai Ram Thakur | Seraj | 27 December 2017 | Incumbent | 4 years, 60 days | 13th Assembly | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
Timeline[]
Living former chief ministers[]
As of 25 February 2022, there are two living former chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh:
- Living former chief ministers
Shanta Kumar
(1977–1980, 1990–1992)
12 September 1934
Prem Kumar Dhumal
(1998–2003, 2007–2012)
10 April 1944
The most recent death of a former chief minister was that of Virbhadra Singh on 8 July 2021, aged 87.
Notes[]
- Footnotes
- ^ a b A number inside brackets indicates that the incumbent has previously held office.
- ^ This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he headed may have been a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
- ^ This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he headed may have been a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
- ^ a b President's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[5]
- References
- ^ a b Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Himachal Pradesh as well.
- ^ a b "HP Vidhan Sabha".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Himachal Legislative Assembly". legislativebodiesinindia.nic.in. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Himachal Pradesh NIC".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Amberish K. Diwanji. "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005. Retrieved on 3 March 2013.
External links[]
- Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh
- Lists of chief ministers of Indian states
- Himachal Pradesh-related lists