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.Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Himachal Pradesh as well. Chief Minister also serves as Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly.
Since 1952, seven people have been chief minister of Himachal Pradesh. Four 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 and 2017, the chief ministership changed hands every five years between Virbhadra Singh of the Congress and Prem Kumar Dhumal of the Bharatiya Janata Party. All chief ministers, except Shanta Kumar, have been from the Rajput caste. Oath as the state chief minister The chief minister serves five years in the office. The following is the oath of the chief minister of state: Oath of Secrecy "I, [Name], do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as a Minister for the State of [Name of State] except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister."Pad ki Shapath (Oath of Office) "Main, [CM ka Naam], Ishwar ki shapath leta hoon / satyanishtha se pratigyan karta hoon ki main vidhi dwara sthapit Bharat ke Samvidhan ke prati sachi shraddha aur nishtha rakhunga. Main Bharat ki prabhuta aur akhandta akshunn rakhunga. Main [State ka Naam] ke Rajya ke Mukhya Mantri ke roop mein apne kartavyon ka shraddhapoorvak aur shuddh antahkaran se nirvahan karunga, tatha main bhay ya pakshpat, anurag ya dwesh ke bina, sabhi prakar ke logon ke prati Samvidhan aur vidhi ke anusar nyay karunga." B. Gopniyata ki Shapath (Oath of Secrecy) "Main, [CM ka Naam], Ishwar ki shapath leta hoon / satyanishtha se pratigyan karta hoon ki jo vishay [State ka Naam] ke Rajya ke Mukhya Mantri ke roop mein mere vichar ke liye laya jayega athva mujhe gyaat hoga, use kisi vyakti ya vyaktityon ko, tab ke sivay jab ki aise Mukhya Mantri ke roop mein apne kartavyon ke uchit nirvahan ke liye aisa karna apekshit ho, main pratyaksh (directly) ya apratyaksh (indirectly) roop mein sansuchit ya prakat nahi karunga."
Chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh (1952–56) and (1963–present) The Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15 April 1948 through the integration of 30 erstwhile princely-states. In 1951, Himachal Pradejsh become a Part C state, under the Government of Part C State, 1951 and was brought under a lieutenant governor with 36-member Legislative Assembly. First elections to the Assembly were held in 1952. The Indian National Congress won 24 seats to form a government under Yashwant Singh Parmar. + Chief ministers of Bilaspur State (1950–1954)PortraitNameConstituencyTerm of officeAssembly N/A 12 October 1948 26 January 1950 N/A N/A 26 January 1950 1 July 1954 N/A
In 1954, Bilaspur, another part-C State, was merged with Himachal Pradesh.
+ Chief ministers of Himachal PradeshNoPortraitNameConstituency Term of officeAssembly (election) Party From To Days in officePart 'C' State of Himachal Pradesh (1951–56) 1 Yashwant Singh Parmar Pachhad 8 March 1952 31 October 1956Legislative Assembly (1952 election) Indian National CongressOffice abolished, 1956–63Union territory of Himachal Pradesh (1963–71)(1)Yashwant Singh ParmarShri Renukaji1 July 19634 March 19671st (Territorial Council)Indian National Congress 4 March 196725 January 19712nd (1967)State of Himachal Pradesh (1971–present) (1) Yashwant Singh Parmar Shri Renukaji 25 January 1971 10 March 19722nd (1967) Indian National Congress10 March 197228 January 19773rd (1972) 2 Thakur Ram Lal Jubbal-Kotkhai 28 January 1977 30 April 1977 – Vacant(President's rule) N/A 30 April 1977 22 June 1977Dissolved N/A 3 Shanta Kumar Sullah 22 June 1977 14 February 19804th (1977) Janata Party (2) Thakur Ram Lal Jubbal-Kotkhai 14 February 1980 15 June 1982 Indian National Congress15 June 19828 April 19835th (1982) 4 Virbhadra Singh Jubbal-Kotkhai 8 April 1983 8 March 1985 8 March 1985 5 March 19906th (1985) (3) Shanta Kumar Palampur 5 March 1990 15 December 19927th (1990) Bharatiya Janata Party – Vacant(President's rule) N/A 15 December 1992 3 December 1993 Dissolved N/A (4) Virbhadra Singh Rohru 3 December 1993 24 March 19988th (1993) Indian National Congress 5 Prem Kumar Dhumal Bamsan 24 March 1998 6 March 20039th (1998) Bharatiya Janata Party (4) Virbhadra Singh Rohru 6 March 2003 30 December 200710th (2003) Indian National Congress (5) Prem Kumar Dhumal Bamsan 30 December 2007 25 December 201211th (2007) Bharatiya Janata Party (4) Virbhadra Singh Shimla Rural 25 December 2012 27 December 201712th (2012) Indian National Congress 6 Jai Ram Thakur Seraj 27 December 2017 11 December 202213th (2017) Bharatiya Janata Party 7 Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Nadaun 11 December 2022 Incumbent 14th (2022) Indian National Congress
Statistics
Statistics for chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh
#Chief MinisterPartyTerm of office Longest tenure Total tenure 1 Virbhadra Singh 6 years, 331 days 21 years, 13 days 2 Yashwant Singh Parmar 6 years, 3 days 18 years, 83 days3 Prem Kumar Dhumal 4 years, 361 days 9 years, 343 days 4 Shanta Kumar /BJP 2 years, 285 days 5 years, 157 days 5 Jai Ram Thakur 4 years, 349 days 4 years, 349 days 6 Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu 7 Thakur Ram Lal 3 years, 53 days 3 years, 145 days
Timeline
Notes Footnotes
References
External links Government of Himachal Pradesh, website Present Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, webpage