Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers list, from 1920 to Vijay

Short answer

Tamil Nadu has had nine Chief Ministers since C. N. Annadurai of the DMK took over from the Congress on 6 March 1967: Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran, Janaki Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa, O. Panneerselvam, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, M. K. Stalin and, since 10 May 2026, C. Joseph Vijay of TVK.

Checked 2 October 2026. Every term against the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly's table of Chief Ministers; Vijay against the Government's minister list.

Since 1967

Term	Chief Minister	Party
6 March 1967 – 3 February 1969	C. N. Annadurai	DMK
10 February 1969 – 4 January 1971	M. Karunanidhi	DMK
15 March 1971 – 31 January 1976	M. Karunanidhi	DMK
30 June 1977 – 17 February 1980	M. G. Ramachandran	AIADMK
9 June 1980 – 15 November 1984	M. G. Ramachandran	AIADMK
10 February 1985 – 24 December 1987	M. G. Ramachandran	AIADMK
7 January 1988 – 30 January 1988	Janaki Ramachandran	AIADMK
27 January 1989 – 30 January 1991	M. Karunanidhi	DMK
24 June 1991 – 12 May 1996	J. Jayalalithaa	AIADMK
13 May 1996 – 13 May 2001	M. Karunanidhi	DMK
14 May 2001 – 21 September 2001	J. Jayalalithaa	AIADMK
21 September 2001 – 1 March 2002	O. Panneerselvam	AIADMK
2 March 2002 – 12 May 2006	J. Jayalalithaa	AIADMK
13 May 2006 – 15 May 2011	M. Karunanidhi	DMK
16 May 2011 – 27 September 2014	J. Jayalalithaa	AIADMK
29 September 2014 – 22 May 2015	O. Panneerselvam	AIADMK
23 May 2015 – 21 May 2016	J. Jayalalithaa	AIADMK
23 May 2016 – 5 December 2016	J. Jayalalithaa	AIADMK
6 December 2016 – 15 February 2017	O. Panneerselvam	AIADMK
16 February 2017 – 6 May 2021*	Edappadi K. Palaniswami	AIADMK
7 May 2021 – 10 May 2026	M. K. Stalin	DMK
10 May 2026 – continuing	C. Joseph Vijay	TVK

Each row is one unbroken term, as the Assembly's table lists them. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and O. Panneerselvam held office more than once. From 1967 to 2026 every Chief Minister came from the DMK or the AIADMK.

Before 1967: Madras Presidency and Madras State

The Assembly's list starts in 1920, under the Madras Presidency. The state was called Madras State from 1950 and was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.

Term	Chief Minister
17 December 1920 – 11 July 1921	A. Subbarayalu
11 July 1921 – 3 December 1926	Panagal Raja
4 December 1926 – 27 October 1930	P. Subbarayan
27 October 1930 – 4 November 1932	P. Munuswamy Naidu
5 November 1932 – 4 April 1936	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao, Raja of Bobbili
4 April 1936 – 24 August 1936	P. T. Rajan
24 August 1936 – 1 April 1937	Ramakrishna Ranga Rao, Raja of Bobbili
1 April 1937 – 14 July 1937	Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu
14 July 1937 – 29 October 1939	C. Rajagopalachari
30 April 1946 – 23 March 1947	Tanguturi Prakasam
23 March 1947 – 6 April 1949	O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar
6 April 1949 – 9 April 1952	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja
10 April 1952 – 13 April 1954	C. Rajagopalachari
13 April 1954 – 2 October 1963	K. Kamaraj
2 October 1963 – 6 March 1967	M. Bakthavatsalam

* The Assembly's table runs Edappadi K. Palaniswami's term past its successor's start (7 May 2021); we end it on 6 May 2021, the day before that start. Parties are not on the Assembly's page: we added them for 1967 onwards. Vijay's row comes from the Government's minister list.

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Sources

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Hon’ble Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu since 1920 (read 2 October 2026).
Government of Tamil Nadu, Council of Ministers (office list last checked 26 September 2026).

Page updated 2 October 2026

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