List of rulers of Bengal

This is a list of rulers of Bengal. For much of its history, Bengal was split up into several independent kingdoms, completely unifying only several times. In ancient times, Bengal consisted of the kingdoms of Pundra, Magadha, Suhma, Anga, Vanga, Samatata and Harikela.

Under the Mauryas, much of Bengal was conquered except for the far eastern Bengali kingdoms which continued to exist as tributary states before succumbing to the Guptas. With the fall of the Gupta Empire, Bengal was united under a single local ruler, Shashanka, for the first time. With the collapse of his kingdom, Bengal split up into petty kingdoms once more.

With the rise of Gopala in 750 AD, Bengal was united once more under the Buddhist Pala Empire until the 12th century then being succeeded by the hindu Chandra dynasty, Sena dynasty and deva dynasty. After them, Bengal was ruled by the Hindu Maharajas of kingdoms such as Chandradwip and Cooch Behar. 13th to 16 th century under the regional power of Bengal sultanate who appointed various local Muslim officials- followed by the British. The position of the Prime Minister of Bengal was established in 1937, and served as the provincial chief executive in the British Raj, until 1947, when Bengal was partitioned, making West Bengal part of India and the East Bengal part of Pakistan. East Bengal then became an independent country, Bangladesh, following the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Legendary kings of Magadha: Brihadratha Dynasty (c. 1700–799 BCE)

• Brihadratha
• Jarasandha
• Sahadeva of Magadha
• Somadhi (1679–1618 BCE)
• Srutasravas (1618–1551 BCE)
• Ayutayus (1551–1515 BCE)
• Niramitra (1515–1415 BCE)
• Sukshatra (1415–1407 BCE)
• Brihatkarman (1407–1384 BCE)
• Senajit (1384–1361 BCE)
• Srutanjaya (1361–1321 BCE)
• Vipra (1321–1296 BCE)
• Suchi (1296–1238 BCE)
• Kshemya (1238–1210 BCE)
• Subrata (1210–1150 BCE)
• Dharma (1150–1145 BCE)
• Susuma (1145–1107 BCE)
• Dridhasena (1107–1059 BCE)
• Sumati (1059–1026 BCE)
• Subhala (1026–1004 BCE)
• Sunita (1004–964 BCE)
• Satyajit (964–884 BCE)
• Biswajit (884–849 BCE)
• Ripunjaya (849–799 BCE)

Pre-Pala dynasties

Pradyota Dynasty (799–684 BCE)

• Pradyota
• Palaka
• Visakhayupa
• Ajaka
• Varttivarddhana

Shishunaga Dynasty (684–424 BCE)

• Shishunaga (684–644 BCE)
• Kakavarna (644–618 BCE)
• Kshemadharman (618–582 BCE)
• Kshatraujas (582–558 BCE)
• Bimbisara (544–491 BCE)
• Ajatashatru (491–461 BCE)
• Darshaka (from 461 BCE)
• Udayin
• Nandivardhana
• Mahanandin (until 424 BCE)

Nanda Dynasty (424–321 BCE)

• Mahapadma Nanda (from 424 BCE)
• Pandhuka
• Panghupati
• Bhutapala
• Rashtrapala
• Govishanaka
• Dashasidkhaka
• Kaivarta
• Dhana Nanda (Agrammes, Xandrammes) (until 321 BCE)

Maurya Dynasty (324–185 BCE)

• Chandragupta Maurya (Sandrakottos) (324–301 BCE)
• Bindusara Amitraghata (301–273 BCE)
• Ashoka Vardhana (Ashoka the Great) (273–232 BCE),
• Dasharatha (232–224 BCE)
• Samprati (224–215 BCE)
• Shalishuka (215–202 BCE)
• Devavarman (202–195 BCE)
• Shatadhanvan (195–187 BCE)
• Brihadratha (187–184 BCE)

Shunga Dynasty (185–73 BCE)

• Pushyamitra Shunga (185–149 BCE)
• Agnimitra (149–141 BCE)
• Vasujyeshtha (141–131 BCE)
• Vasumitra (131–124 BCE)
• Andhraka (124–122 BCE)
• Pulindaka (122–119 BCE)
• Ghosha
• Vajramitra
• Bhagabhadra
• Devabhuti (83–73 BCE)

Kanva Dynasty (73–43 BCE)

• Vasudeva Kanva (from 73 BCE)
• Bhumimitra
• Narayana
• Susharman (Until 43 BCE)

Gupta Empire (c. CE 240–550 )

• Sri-Gupta I (c. 240–280)
• Ghatotkacha (280–319)
• Chandra Gupta I (320–335)
• Samudra Gupta (335–380)
• Rama Gupta (?)
• Chandra Gupta II (Chandragupta Vikramaditya) (380–413/415)
• Kumara Gupta I (415–455)
• Skanda Gupta (455–467)
• Puru Gupta(467-473)
• Kumara Gupta II (473–476)
• Buddha Gupta (476–495)
• Narasimha Gupta(495-?)
• Kumara Gupta III (?)
• Vishnugupta (540–550)
• Vainya Gupta (550–?)
• Bhanu Gupta(?)

Gauda Kingdom

• Shashanka (c.590–625)
• Manava (625 for 8 months)

Khadga kingdom

The Khadga dynasty was a line of Buddhist kings that ruled the areas of Vanga and later Samatata (modern Bangladesh).^[1]

• Khadgodyama (625–640)
• Jatakhadga (640–658)
• Devakhadga (658–673)
• Rajabhata (673–690)
• Balabhata (690–705)
• Udirnakhadga (undetermined reign)

Mallabhum

Mallabhum was the kingdom ruled by the Mallas kings of Bishnupur primarily in the present Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal.^[2][3][4]

• Adi Malla (694 - 710)
• Jay Malla (710 - 720)
• Benu Malla (720 - 733)
• Kinu Malla (733 - 742)
• Indra Malla (742 - 757)
• Kanu (Kau/Kalu) Malla (757 - 764)
• Dha (Jhau) Malla (764 - 775)
• Shur Malla (775 - 795)
• Kanak Malla (795 - 807)
• Kandarpa Malla (807 - 828)
• Sanatan Malla (828 - 841)
• Kharga Malla (841 - 862)
• Durjan (Durjay) Malla (862 - 906)
• Yadav Malla (906 - 919)
• Jagannath Malla (919 - 931)
• Birat Malla (931 - 946)
• Mahadev Malla (946 - 977)
• Durgadas Malla (977 - 994)
• Jagat Malla (994 - 1007)
• Ananta Malla (1007 - 1015)
• Rup Malla (1015 - 1029)
• Sundar Malla (1029 - 1053)
• Kumud Malla (1053 - 1074)
• Krishna Malla (1074 - 1084)
• Rup II (Jhap) Malla (1084 - 1097)
• Prakash Malla (1097 - 1102)
• Pratap Malla (1102 - 1113)
• Sindur Malla (1113 - 1129)
• Sukhomoy(Shuk) Malla (1129 - 1142)
• Banamali Malla (1142 - 1156)
• Yadu/Jadu Malla (1156 - 1167)
• Jiban Malla (1167 - 1185)
• Ram(Kshetra) Malla (1185 - 1209)
• Gobinda Malla (1209 - 1240)
• Bhim Malla (1240 - 1263)
• Katar(Khattar) Malla (1263 - 1295)
• Prithwi Malla (1295 - 1319)
• Tapa Malla (1319 - 1334)
• Dinabandhu Malla (1334 - 1345)
• Kinu/Kanu Malla II (1345 - 1358)
• Shur Malla II (1358 - 1370)
• Shiv Singh Malla (1370 - 1407)
• Madan Malla (1407 - 1420)
• Durjan Malla (1420 - 1437)
• Uday Malla (1437 - 1460)
• Chandra Malla (1460 - 1501)
• Bir Malla (1501 - 1554)
• Dhari Malla (1554 - 1565)
• Hambir Malla Dev (1565 - 1620)
• Dhari Hambir Malla Dev (1620 - 1626)
• Raghunath Singha Dev (1626 - 1656)
• Bir Singha Dev (1656 - 1682)
• Durjan Singha Dev(1682 - 1702)
• Raghunath Singha Dev II (1702 - 1712)
• Gopal Singha Dev (1712 - 1748)
• Chaitanya Singha Dev (1748 - 1801)
• Madhav Singha Dev (1801 - 1809)
• Gopal Singha Dev II (1809 - 1876)
• Ramkrishna Singha Dev (1876 - 1885)
• Dwhajamoni Devi (1885 - 1889)
• Nilmoni Singha Dev (1889 - 1903)
• No King (1903 - 1930)
• Kalipada Singha Thakur (1930 - 1983)

Pala and post-Pala dynasties

Pala Empire

Most of the Pala inscriptions mention only the regnal year as the date of issue, without any well-known calendar era. Because of this, the chronology of the Pala kings is hard to determine.^[5] Based on their different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, different historians estimate the Pala chronology as follows:^[6]

	RC Majumdar (1971)[7]	AM Chowdhury (1967)[8]	BP Sinha (1977)[9]	DC Sircar (1975–76)[10]	D. K. Ganguly (1994)[5]
Gopala I	750–770	756–781	755–783	750–775	750–774
Dharmapala	770–810	781–821	783–820	775–812	774–806
Devapala	810–c. 850	821–861	820–860	812–850	806–845
Mahendrapala	NA (Mahendrapala's existence was conclusively established through a copper-plate charter discovered later.)				845–860
Shurapala I	850–853	861–866	860–865	850–858	860–872
Vigrahapala I				858–60	872–873
Narayanapala	854–908	866–920	865–920	860–917	873–927
Rajyapala	908–940	920–952	920–952	917–952	927–959
Gopala II	940–957	952–969	952–967	952–972	959–976
Vigrahapala II	960–c. 986	969–995	967–980	972–977	976–977
Mahipala I	988–c. 1036	995–1043	980–1035	977–1027	977–1027
Nayapala	1038–1053	1043–1058	1035–1050	1027–1043	1027–1043
Vigrahapala III	1054–1072	1058–1075	1050–1076	1043–1070	1043–1070
Mahipala II	1072–1075	1075–1080	1076–1078/9	1070–1071	1070–1071
Shurapala	1075–1077	1080–1082		1071–1072	1071–1072
Ramapala	1077–1130	1082–1124	1078/9–1132	1072–1126	1072–1126
Kumarapala	1130–1125	1124–1129	1132–1136	1126–1128	1126–1128
Gopala III	1140–1144	1129–1143	1136–1144	1128–1143	1128–1143
Madanapala	1144–1162	1143–1162	1144–1161/62	1143–1161	1143–1161
Govindapala	1155–1159	NA	1162–1176 or 1158–1162	1161–1165	1161–1165
Palapala	NA	NA	NA	1165–1199	1165–1200

Note:^[6]

• Earlier historians believed that Vigrahapala I and Shurapala I were the two names of the same person. Now, it is known that these two were cousins; they either ruled simultaneously (perhaps over different territories) or in rapid succession.
• AM Chowdhury rejects Govindapala and his successor Palapala as the members of the imperial Pala dynasty.
• According to BP Sinha, the Gaya inscription can be read as either the "14th year of Govindapala's reign" or "14th year after Govindapala's reign". Thus, two sets of dates are possible.

Chandra Dynasty

• Traillokyachandra (900–930)
• Srichandra (930–975)
• Kalyanachandra (975–1000)
• Ladahachandra (1000–1020)
• Govindachandra (1020–1050)

Chola dynasty

• Rajendra Chola I (1019-1024)

Sen Dynasty

• Hemantasen (1070–1096)
• Vijayasen (1096–1159)
• Ballalsen (1159–1179)
• Lakshmansen (1179–1206)
• Vishwarupsen (1206–1225)
• Keshabsen (1225–1230)

Deva Dynasty

• Purushottamadeva
• Madhusudanadeva
• Vasudeva
• Damodaradeva (1231–1243)
• Dasharathadeva (1281)

Delhi sultanates era

Khilji dynasty (1204–1227)

Name	Reign	Notes
Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji	1204–1206
Muhammad Shiran Khilji	1206–1208
Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Shah	1208–1210
Ali Mardan Khilji	1210–1212
Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Shah	1212–1227	second term as Husamuddin Iwaj Khilji

Governors of Bengal under Mamluk Sultanate (1227–1281)

Name	Reign	Notes
Nasiruddin Mahmud	1227–1229
Alauddin Daulat Shah Khalji	1229–1230[11]
Malik Balkha Khilji	1230–1231
Alauddin Jani	1232–1233
Saifuddin Aibak	1233–1236
Awor Khan Aibak	1236
Tughral Tughan Khan	1236–1246
Tughlaq Tamar Khan	1246–1247
Jalaluddin Masud Jani	1247–1251
Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak	1251–1257
Ijjauddin Balban Iuzbaki	1257–1259
Tatar Khan	1259–1268
Sher Khan	1268–1272
Amin Khan	1272–1272
Tughral Tughan Khan	1272–1281	Second term as Mughisuddin Tughral

Balban dynasty (1281–1324)

Name	Reign	Notes
Nasiruddin Bughra Khan	1281 –1291	As governor of Lakhnauti in 1281–1287 and as independent Sultan in 1287–1291.
Rukunuddin Kaikaus	1291–1300	First Muslim ruler to conquer Satgaon kingdom. Divided Bengal into two parts – Lakhnauti.
Shamsuddin Firoz Shah	1300–1322	First Muslim ruler to conquer Sonargaon region.
Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah	1322–1324	Lost independence of Bengal to Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq.

Governors of Bengal under Tughlaq Sultanate (1324–1339)

Name	Region	Reign	Notes
Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah	Sonargaon	1324–1328
Bahram Khan	Sonargaon	1328–1338
Qadar Khan	Lakhnauti	1328–1336
Mukhlis	Lakhnauti	1336–1339
Azam Khan	Satgaon	1324–1328
Izzuddin Yahya	Satgaon	1328–1339

Bengal Sultanate Era

Independent Sultans of Bengal during Tughlaq Sultanate (1338–1352)

Name	Region	Reign	Notes
Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah	Sonargaon	1338–1349
Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah	Sonargaon	1349–1352
Ilyas Shah	Satgaon	1339–1342
Alauddin Ali Shah	Lakhnauti	1339–1342
Ilyas Shah	Lakhnauti and Satgaon	1342–1352

Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1352–1414)

Name	Reign	Notes
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah	1352–1358	Became the first sole ruler of whole Bengal comprising Sonargaon, Satgaon and Lakhnauti.
Sikandar Shah	1358–1390	Assassinated by his son and successor, Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah
Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah	1390–1411
Saifuddin Hamza Shah	1411–1412
Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah	1412–1414

House of Raja Ganesha (1414–1435)

Name	Reign	Notes
Raja Ganesha	1414–1415
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah	1415–1416	Son of Raja Ganesha and converted into Islam
Raja Ganesha	1416–1418	Second Phase
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah	1418–1433	Second Phase
Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah	1433–1435

Restored Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1435–1487)

Name	Reign	Notes
Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah	1435–1459
Rukunuddin Barbak Shah	1459–1474
Shamsuddin Yusuf Shah	1474–1481
Sikandar Shah II	1481
Jalaaluddin Fateh Shah	1481–1487

Habshi rule (1487–1494)

Name	Reign	Notes
Shahzada Barbak	1487
Saifuddin Firuz Shah	1487–1489
Mahmud Shah II	1489–1490
Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah	1490–1494

Hussain Shahi dynasty (1494–1538)

Name	Reign	Notes
Alauddin Hussain Shah	1494–1518
Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah	1518–1533
Alauddin Firuz Shah	1533
Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah	1533–1538

Governors of Bengal under Suri Empire (1532–1555)

Name	Reign	Notes
Sher Shah Suri	1532–1538	Defeated Mughals and became the ruler of Delhi in 1540.
Khidr Khan	1538–1541
Qazi Fazilat	1541–1545
Muhammad Khan Sur	1545–1554
Shahbaz Khan	1555

Muhammad Shah dynasty (1554–1564)

Name	Reign	Notes
Muhammad Khan Sur	1554–1555	Declared independence and styled himself as Shamsuddin Muhammad Shah
Khizr Khan Suri	1555–1561
Ghiyasuddin Jalal Shah	1561–1563
Ghiyasuddin Shah III	1563–1564[12]

Karrani dynasty (1564–1576)

Name	Reign	Notes
Taj Khan Karrani	1564–1566
Sulaiman Khan Karrani	1566–1572
Bayazid Khan Karrani	1572
Daud Khan Karrani	1572–1576

Mughal Subahdars of Bengal Subah (1565–1717)

During the reign of Akbar the Great

Name	Reign	Notes
Munim Khan	1574–1575	Khan-i-Khanan
Hussain Quli Khan	1575–1578
Muzaffar Khan Turbati	1579–1580
Mirza Aziz Koka	1582–1583
Wazir Khan Tajik	1583–1583
Shahbaz Khan Kamboh	1583–1585
Sadiq Khan	1585–1586
Wazir Khan Tajik	1586–1587
Sa'id Khan	1587–1594
Raja Man Singh I	1597 – 1606[13]

During the reign of Jahangir

Name	Reign	Notes
Qutubuddin Koka	Sep 2, 1606 – 1607	killed in a battle against Sher Afghan. (Local history of Burdwan, West Bengal, India says that Qutub-ud-din Kokah died in a battle against Ali Quli Istajlu alias Sher Afgan in 1610 CE. The tomb where both of them were buried is presently under the surveillance of Archaeological Survey of India.)
Jahangir Quli Beg	1607–1608	In early life, a slave of Akbar's brother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim
Islam Khan Chishti	1608–1613	first governor to transfer the Bengal capital to Dhaka in April 1612
Qasim Khan Chishti	1613–1617	younger brother of Islam Khan Chishti
Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang	1617–1624	died in an attack by Prince Shahjahan
Mahabat Khan	1625–1626
Mukarram Khan	1626–1627
Fidai Khan	1627–1628

During the reign of Shah Jahan

Name	Reign	Notes
Qasim Khan Juvayni	1628–1632
Mir Muhammad Baqir	1632–1635	Known as Azam Khan
Mir Abdus Salam	1635–1639	Known as Islam Khan Mashadi
Prince Shah Shuja	1639–1647 again 1652–1660

During the reign of Aurangzeb

Name	Reign	Notes
Mir Jumla II	1660–1663
Shaista Khan	1664–1678
Azam Khan Koka	1678–1678	Known as Fidai Khan II
Prince Muhammad Azam	20 July 1678 – 6 October 1679[14]
Shaista Khan	1680–1688
Ibrahim Khan II	1689–1697
Prince Azim-us-Shan	1697–1712

Post Aurangzeb Subahdars

Name	Reign	Notes
Khan-i-Alam	1712–1713
Farrukh Siyar	1713–1717
Murshid Quli Khan	1717–1727

The Nawabs of Bengal

Portrait	Titular Name	Personal Name	Birth	Reign	Death
Nasiri Dynasty
Ala ud-Daulah	Murshid Quli Jafar Khan	1665	1717– 1727	30 June 1727
	Mirza Asadullah	Sarfaraz Khan Bahadur	?	1727–1727	April 1740
	Shuja ud-Daula	Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan	1670	July 1727 – 26 August 1739	26 August 1739
	Mirza Asadullah	Sarfaraz Khan Bahadur	?	13 March 1739 – April 1740	April 1740
Afshar Dynasty
	Husam ud-Daula	Muhammad Alivardi Khan Bahadur	10 May 1671	29 April 1740 – 16 April 1756	16 April 1756
	Siraj ud-Daulah	Mîrzâ Muhammad Sirâj-ud-Daulah	1733	April 1756 – 2 June 1757	June 1757
Najafi Dynasty
	Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur	Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan	1691	June 1757 – October 1760	17 January 1765
	Itimad ud-Daulah	Mir Kasim Ali Khan Bahadur	?	1760–1763	1777
	Ja'afar 'Ali Khan Bahadur	Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan	1691	25 July 1763 – 17 January 1765	17 January 1765
	Nazam-ud-Daulah	Najimuddin Ali Khan	1750	5 February 1765 – 8 May 1766	8 May 1766
	Saif ud-Daulah	Najabut Ali Khan	1749	22 May 1766 – 10 March 1770	10 March 1770
	Mubarak ud-Daulah	Ashraf Ali Khan	1759	21 March 1770 – 6 September 1793	6 September 1793
	Azud ud-Daulah	Babar Ali Khan Bahadur	?	1793 – 28 April 1810	28 April 1810
	Ali Jah	Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan	?	5 June 1810 – 6 August 1821	6 August 1821
	Walla Jah	Ahmad Ali Khan	?	1810 – 30 October 1824	30 October 1824
	Humayun Jah	Mubarak Ali Khan	29 September 1810	1824 – 3 October 1838	3 October 1838
	Feradun Jah	Mansur Ali Khan	29 October 1830	29 October 1838 –1881 (abdicated)	5 November 1884

Nawabs of Murshidabad

Picture	Titular Name	Personal Name	Birth	Reign	Death
Najafi Dynasty
	Ali Kadir	Hassan Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur	25 August 1846	17 February 1882 – 25 December 1906	25 December 1906
	Amir ul-Omrah	Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur	7 January 1875	December 1906–23 October 1959	23 October 1959
	Raes ud-Daulah	Waris Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur	14 November 1901	1959 – 20 November 1969 ( no clear successor-post/title in dispute)	20 November 1969

Hindu Dynasties in Bengal

• Raja Sitaram Ray

Maharajas of Bankura

• Adi Malla (694 - 710)
• Jay Malla (710 - 720)
• Kalu Malla
• Kau Malla
• Jhau Malla
• Sur Malla
• Jagat Malla (994 - 1007)
• Prithwi Malla (1295 - 1319)
• Dinabandhu Malla (1334 - 1345)
• Shiv Singh Malla (1370 - 1407)
• Madan Malla (1407 - 1420)
• Durjan Malla (1420 - 1437)
• Uday Malla (1437 - 1460)
• Chandra Malla (1460 - 1501)
• Bir Malla (1501 - 1554)
• Dhari Malla (1554 - 1565)
• Hambir Malla Dev (1565 - 1620)
• Dhari Hambir Malla Dev (1620 - 1626)
• Raghunath Singha Dev (1626 - 1656)
• Bir Singha Dev (1656 - 1682)
• Bir Singha Dev II
• Durjan Singha Dev (1694)
• Raghunath Singha Dev II (1702 - 1712)
• Gopal Singha Dev (1712 - 1748)
• Chaitannya Singha Dev (1748 - 1801)
• Madhav Singh Dev (1801 - 1809)
• Gopal Singha Dev-II(1809-1876)
• Ramkrishna Singha Dev(1876-1889)
• Nilmoni Singha Dev(1889-1930)
• Kalipada Singha Thakur(1930-1984)

Maharajas of Bhurshut

• Shivanarayan
• Rudranarayan
• Bhavashankari
• Pratapnarayan
• Naranarayan
• Lakshminarayan

Maharajas of Chandradwip

Many illustrious maharajas ruled much of East Bengal and the Sundarbans and conquered Jessore Their surname was Basu - they came to Bengal during the Sena Dynasty to conquer the Palas and take over from them. A famous literary novel was written about the Chandradwip Basu family by Tagore called BouThakuranis Haat and a film was made from this book

Maharajas of Koch kingdom

• Viswa Singha
• Nara Narayan
• Lakshmi Narayan
• Harendra Narayan
• Shivendra Narayan
• Narendra Narayan
• Nripendra Narayan
• Jitendra Narayan
• Jagaddipendra Narayan

Maharajas of Jessore Kingdom

• Pratapaditya

Maharajas of Nadia

• Raja Bhabananda
• Raja Sri Krishna Ray
• Raja Gopal Ray
• Raja Raghab Ray
• Maharaja Rudra Ray
• Raja Ramjiban Ray
• Raja Ramjiban Ray II
• Raja Raghuram Ray
• Raja Krishnachandra Ray 1727-1772

East India Company governors in Bengal

Governors of British East India Company in Bengal (1757–1793)

• Robert Clive 1757 – 1760
• Henry Vansittart 1760 – 1764
• Robert Clive (again) 1765 – 1766
• Harry Verelst 1767 – 1769
• John Cartier 1769 – 1772
• Warren Hastings 1772 – 1773 see below

As per the treaty of Allahabad in 1765, the British East India Company (BEIC) was given the right to collect revenue (Diwani right). From 1769, the company collected revenue from Bengal.

Governor-Generals of British East India Company in Bengal - Dual government (1773-1774)

Following the Regulating Act of 1773, the Governor of Bengal was officially called Governor-General of Fort William.

• Warren Hastings 1773 see above – 1774
• Charles Cornwallis 1786 – 1793

Governor-Generals of British East India Company in Bengal (1793–1854)

In 1793, the British East India Company abolished Nizamat, i.e. local rule by Mughal emperor- appointed Nawabs and annexed Bengal.

• Sir John Shore 1793 - 1798
• Richard Wellesley 1798 – 1805
• Charles Cornwallis 1805 – 1805
• Sir George Barlow, 1st Baronet 1805 - 1807
• Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto 1807 - 1813
• Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings 1813 - 1823
• John Adam 1823 - 1823
• William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst 1823 - 1828
• William Butterworth Bayley 1828 - 1828
• Lord William Bentinck 1828 - 1833

Governor-Generals of British East India Company (1833-1858)

As per Charter Act of 1833, the Governor-General of Bengal would be called Governor-General of India

• Lord William Bentinck 1833 - 1835
• Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe 1835 - 1836
• George Eden 1836 - 1842
• Edward Law 1842 - 1844
• William Bird 1844 - 1844
• Henry Hardinge 1844 - 1848
• James Broun-Ramsay 1848 – 1856
• The Viscount Canning 1856 - 1858

British Raj Period

With the establishment of the Empire of India in 1858, the position of Governor-General was replaced with Governor-General and Viceroy of India. Calcutta, the capital of Bengal also became the capital of India. As a result, the position of Lieutanant-Governor of Bengal was established to look after provincial matters.

Lieutenant-Governors (1858–1912)

• Frederick James Halliday 1858–1859
• John Grant 1859–1862
• Sir Cecil Beadon 1862–1866
• Sir William Grey 1866–1871
• George Campbell 1871–1874
• Sir Richard Temple 1874–1877
• Sir Ashley Eden 1877–1879
• Steuart Bayley 1879–1882
• Sir Augustus Thompson 1882–1885
• Horace Cockerell 1885–1887
• Sir Steuart Bayley 1887–1890
• Charles Eliott 1890–1893
• Anthony MacDonnell 1893–1895
• Alexander Mackenzie 1895–1897
• Charles Cecil Stevens 1897–1898
• Sir John Woodburn 1898–1902
• James Bourdillon 1902–1903
• Sir Andrew Fraser 1903–1906
• Lancelot Hare 1906–1906
• Francis Slacke 1906–1908
• Sir Edward Baker 1908–1911
• Sir William Duke 1911–1912

Governors (1912–1947)

In late 1911, the Indian Government decided to move the capital to New Delhi. As a result, the Governorship of Bengal Presidency was now necessary.

• Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, 1st Baron Carmichael 1912–1917
• Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland as Earl of Ronaldshay 1917–1922
• Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton 1922–1927
• Sir Stanley Jackson 1927–1932
• Sir John Anderson 1932–1937
• Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne 1937–1939
• John Arthur Herbert 1939–1943
• Sir Richard Casey 1944–1946
• Sir Frederick Burrows 1946–1947

Chief Ministers of Bengal Presidency (1937–1947)

The Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy in India and the position of Chief Minister or Premier of Bengal became very prominent.

No	Name	Term(s)[15]	Party
1	Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq	1 April 1937 - 1 December 1941 12 December 1941 - 29 March 1943	Krishak Praja Party
2	Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin	29 April 1943 - 31 March 1945	All India Muslim League
3	H. S. Suhrawardy	23 April 1946 - 14 August 1947	All India Muslim League

Subsequently, all three Bengali chief ministers moved to East Pakistan, where they continued to be influential statesmen. Nazimuddin and Suhrawardy became Prime Ministers of Pakistan, while Huq served as the Chief Minister and Governor of East Pakistan.

After Independence of India and Pakistan

British colonial period ended when India and Pakistan became independent nations in 1947. Bengal fell into two parts – one in India, named West Bengal and the other part in Pakistan as East Bengal, later renamed to East Pakistan in 1955.

Governors of West Bengal

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office
1	Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari	1947	1948
2	Kailash Nath Katju	1948	1951
3	Harendra Coomar Mookerjee	1951	1956
4	Phani Bhusan Chakraborty	1956	1956
5	Padmaja Naidu	1956	1967
6	Dharma Vira	1967	1969
7	Deep Narayan Sinha	1969	1969
8	Shanti Swaroop Dhavan	1969	1971
9	Anthony Lancelot Dias	1971	1979
10	Tribhuvana Narayana Singh	1979	1981
11	Bhairab Dutt Pande	1981	1983
12	Anant Prasad Sharma	1983	1984
13	Satish Chandra	1984	1984
14	Uma Shankar Dikshit	1984	1986
15	Nurul Hasan	1986	1989
16	T. V. Rajeshwar	1989	1990
17	Nurul Hasan	1990	1993
18	B. Satyanarayan Reddy	1993	1993
19	K.V. Raghunatha Reddy	1993	1998
20	A.R. Kidwai	1998	1999
21	Shyamal Kumar Sen	1999	1999
22	Viren J. Shah	1999	2004
23	Gopalkrishna Gandhi	2004	2009
24	Devanand Konwar	2009	2010
25	Mayankote Kelath Narayanan	2010	2014
26	Keshari Nath Tripathi	2014

Chief Ministers of West Bengal

Key:	INC Indian National Congress	BC-UF Bangla Congress	CPI(M) Communist Party of India (Marxist)	TMC All India Trinamool Congress

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Political Party
1	Prafulla Chandra Ghosh	15 August 1947	14 January 1948	Indian National Congress
2	Bidhan Chandra Roy	14 January 1948	1 July 1962	Indian National Congress
	President's rule	1 July 1962	8 July 1962
3	Prafulla Chandra Sen	8 July 1962	15 March 1967	Indian National Congress
4	Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee	15 March 1967	2 November 1967	Bangla Congress in United Front
5	Prafulla Chandra Ghosh	2 November 1967	20 February 1968	Nonparty in Progressive Democratic Alliance Front
	President's rule	20 February 1968	25 February 1969
6	Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee	25 February 1969	19 March 1970	Bangla Congress in United Front
	President's rule	19 March 1970	2 April 1971
7	Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee	2 April 1971	28 June 1971	Indian National Congress in coalition
	President's rule	28 June 1971	19 March 1972
8	Siddhartha Shankar Ray	19 March 1972	21 June 1977	Indian National Congress
9	Jyoti Basu	21 June 1977	6 November 2000	Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Left Front
10	Buddhadeb Bhattacharya	6 November 2000	13 May 2011	Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Left Front
11	Mamata Banerjee	20 May 2011	Incumbent	All India Trinamool Congress

Governors of East Bengal

Tenure	Governor of East Bengal[16]
15 August 1947 - 31 March 1950	Sir Frederick Chalmers Bourne
31 March 1950 - 31 March 1953	Sir Feroz Khan Noon
31 March 1953 - 29 May 1954	Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
29 May 1954 - May 1955	Iskandar Ali Mirza
May 1955 - June 1955	Muhammad Shahabuddin (acting)
June 1955 - 14 October 1955	Amiruddin Ahmad

Governors of East Pakistan

In late 1954, prime minister Muhammad Ali Bogra initiated the One Unit policy which resulted in East Pakistan province to be renamed to East Pakistan.

Tenure	Governor of East Pakistan[16]	Political Affiliation
14 October 1955 – March 1956	Amiruddin Ahmad	Muslim League
March 1956 – 13 April 1958	A. K. Fazlul Huq	Muslim League
13 April 1958 – 3 May 1958	Hamid Ali (acting)	Awami League
3 May 1958 – 10 October 1958	Sultanuddin Ahmad	Awami League
10 October 1958 – 11 April 1960	Zakir Husain	Muslim League
11 April 1960 – 11 May 1962	Lieutenant-General Azam Khan, PA	Military Administration
11 May 1962 – 25 October 1962	Ghulam Faruque	Independent
25 October 1962 – 23 March 1969	Abdul Monem Khan	Civil Administration
23 March 1969 – 25 March 1969	Mirza Nurul Huda	Civil Administration
25 March 1969 – 23 August 1969	Major-General Muzaffaruddin,[17] PA	Military Administration
23 August 1969 – 1 September 1969	Lieutenant-General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, PA	Military Administration
1 September 1969 – 7 March 1971	Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, PN	Military Administration
7 March 1971 – 6 April 1971	Lieutenant-General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, PA	Military Administration
6 April 1971 – 31 August 1971	Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan, PA	Military Administration
31 August 1971 – 14 December 1971	Abdul Motaleb Malik	Independent
14 December 1971 – 16 December 1971	Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, PA	Military Administration

Chief Minister of East Bengal

Tenure	Chief Minister of East Bengal	Political Party
August 1947 – September 1948	Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin	Muslim League
September 1948 – April 1954	Nurul Amin	Muslim League
April 1954 – 1955	Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq	Muslim League

Chief Minister of East Pakistan

Tenure	Chief Minister of East Pakistan	Political Party
August 1955 – September 1956	Abu Hussain Sarkar	Krishan Sramik Party
September 1956 – March 1958	Ata-ur-Rahman Khan	Awami League
March 1958	Abu Hussain Sarkar	Krishan Sramik Party
March 1958 – 18 June 1958	Ata-ur-Rahman Khan	Awami League
18 June 1958 – 22 June 1958	Abu Hussain Sarkar	Krishan Sramik Party
22 June 1958 – 25 August 1958	Governor's Rule
25 August 1958 – 7 October 1958	Ata-ur-Rahman Khan	Awami League

On 7 October 1958, the post of Chief Minister of East Pakistan was abolished. And after the independence of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971, the Province of East Pakistan was dissolved.

After independence of Bangladesh

East Pakistan seceded from West Pakistan on 16 December 1971 after the end of Bangladesh Liberation War and was named Bangladesh as an independent nation.

The President was the executive Head of state of Bangladesh during Presidential system of government from 1975 to 1991. Thereafter, the Prime Minister is the executive head of government of this parliamentary republic while the President is the ceremonial Head of state, elected by the parliament.

Presidents of Bangladesh

Key:	Awami League / BAKSAL	Bangladesh Nationalist Party	Jatiya Party	Independent

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	17 April 1971	12 January 1972	Awami League
—	Syed Nazrul Islam Acting	17 April 1971	12 January 1972	Awami League
2	Abu Sayeed Chowdhury	12 January 1972	24 December 1973	Awami League
3	Mohammad Mohammadullah	24 December 1973	25 January 1975	Awami League
4	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	25 January 1975	15 August 1975 (assassinated)	BAKSAL
5	Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad	15 August 1975	6 November 1975	Awami League
6	Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem	6 November 1975	21 April 1977	Awami League
7	Ziaur Rahman	21 April 1977	30 May 1981 (assassinated)	Military / Bangladesh Nationalist Party
8	Abdus Sattar	30 May 1981	24 March 1982 (deposed)	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
—	Hussain Muhammad Ershad	24 March 1982	27 March 1982	Military Administration
9	Ahsanuddin Chowdhury	27 March 1982	10 December 1983	Independent
10	Hussain Muhammad Ershad	11 December 1983	6 December 1990	Military / Jatiya Party
—	Shahabuddin Ahmed Acting	6 December 1990	10 October 1991	Independent
11	Abdur Rahman Biswas	10 October 1991	9 October 1996	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
12	Shahabuddin Ahmed	9 October 1996	14 November 2001	Independent
13	Badruddoza Chowdhury	14 November 2001	21 June 2002	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
—	Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar Acting	21 June 2002	6 September 2002	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
14	Iajuddin Ahmed	6 September 2002	12 February 2009	Independent
15	Zillur Rahman	12 February 2009	20 March 2013 (died)	Awami League
16	Abdul Hamid	14 March 2013	Incumbent	Awami League

Prime Ministers of Bangladesh

Key:	Awami League / BAKSAL	Bangladesh Nationalist Party	Jatiya Party	Independent

#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1	Tajuddin Ahmed	10 April 1971	13 January 1972	Awami League
2	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	13 January 1972	26 January 1975	Awami League
3	Mohammad Mansoor Ali	26 January 1975	15 August 1975	BAKSAL
Post abolished (15 August 1975 – 29 June 1978)
—	Mashiur Rahman (Senior Minister)	29 June 1978	12 March 1979	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
4	Shah Azizur Rahman	15 April 1979	24 March 1982	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Post abolished (24 March 1982 – 30 March 1984)
5	Ataur Rahman Khan	30 March 1984	9 July 1986	Jatiya Party
6	Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury	9 July 1986	27 March 1988	Jatiya Party
7	Moudud Ahmed	27 March 1988	12 August 1989	Jatiya Party
8	Kazi Zafar Ahmed	12 August 1989	6 December 1990	Jatiya Party
Post abolished (6 December 1990 – 20 March 1991)
9	Khaleda Zia, 1st Term	20 March 1991	16 February 1996	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
10	Khaleda Zia, 2nd Term	16 March 1996	30 March 1996	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
—	Muhammad Habibur Rahman (Chief Adviser)	30 March 1996	23 June 1996	Independent
11	Sheikh Hasina Wazed, 1st Term	23 June 1996	15 July 2001	Awami League
—	Latifur Rahman (Chief Adviser)	15 July 2001	10 October 2001	Independent
12	Khaleda Zia, 3rd Term	10 October 2001	29 October 2006	Bangladesh Nationalist Party
—	Iajuddin Ahmed (President and Chief Adviser)	29 October 2006	11 January 2007	Independent
—	Fakhruddin Ahmed (Chief Adviser)	12 January 2007	6 January 2009	Independent
13	Sheikh Hasina Wazed, 2nd Term	6 January 2009	5 January 2014	Awami League
14	Sheikh Hasina Wazed, 3rd term	5 January 2014	Incumbent	Awami League

References

Sources and external links

• Dasgupta, Gautam Kumar; Biswas, Samira,; Mallik, Rabiranjan, (2009), Heritage Tourism: An Anthropological Journey to Bishnupur, A Mittal Publication, p. 21, ISBN 8183242944 
• Islam, Sirajul (2012). "Subahdar". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. 
• KingListsFarEast
• WorldStatesmen.org - Bangladesh

[[[Category:Rulers of Bengal|*]] [Category:History of Bengal]]