| Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry | |
|---|---|
| Putuccēri Mutalamaiccar | |
 | |
 | |
| Style |
|
| Type | Head of government |
| Status | Leader of the Executive |
| Abbreviation | CMOPY |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | |
| Appointer | Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry |
| Formation | 1 July 1963 |
| First holder | Edouard Goubert |
| Website | Official website |
The chief minister of Puducherry is the chief executive of the Indian union territory of Puducherry. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the lieutenant governor is a union territory's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Puducherry Legislative Assembly, the lieutenant governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The lieutenant 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 1963, Puducherry has had 10 chief ministers. The longest-serving and current chief minister, N. Rangasamy from All India N.R. Congress, held the office for over fifteen years in multiple tenures. The former governor of Kerala M. O. H. Farook has the second-longest tenure and V. Vaithilingam from the Indian National Congress has the third-longest tenure. The inaugural holder Edouard Goubert from the Indian National Congress has the shortest tenure (only 1 year, 71 days). There have been seven instances of president's rule in Puducherry, most recently in 2021.
The current incumbent is N. Rangasamy of the All India N.R. Congress since 7 May 2021.
- ^ 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 union territory governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Puducherry as well.