The Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers is the executive wing of the Government of Tamil Nadu and is headed by the Chief Minister, who is the head of government and leader of the state cabinet.
The current state council of ministers were sworn in on 10 May 2026, following the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. The term of every executive wing is for 5 years. The council of ministers are assisted by department secretaries attached to each ministry who are from the Tamil Nadu cadre of the IAS. The chief executive officer responsible for issuing orders on behalf of the Government is the Chief Secretary to the State Government, currently M. Sai Kumar, who assumed office on 8 April 2026.
Constitutional requirement
For the Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor According to Article 163 of the Indian Constitution, there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions.
This means that the Ministers serve under the pleasure of the Governor and he/she may remove them, on the advice of the Chief Minister, whenever they want.
For other provisions as to Ministers The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and the Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.
The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 inserted Article 164(1A), capping the total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, at 15 per cent of the total membership of the Legislative Assembly, with a minimum of twelve ministers. For Tamil Nadu's 234-member Assembly, this places the maximum cabinet size at 35 ministers.
Chief Minister
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the real head of the government and responsible for state administration. He is the leader of the parliamentary party in the legislature and heads the state cabinet. The current Chief Minister is C. Joseph Vijay, president of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, who was sworn in on 10 May 2026 as the 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. His election ended nearly six decades of alternating rule between the DMK and the AIADMK.
Deputy Chief Minister
The Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the deputy head of the government and senior minister of the cabinet after the Chief Minister. The current Vijay ministry has not designated a Deputy Chief Minister.
State Cabinet
As per the Indian Constitution, all portfolios of state government are vested in the Chief Minister, who distributes various portfolios to individual ministers whom he nominates to the State Governor. The state governor appoints individual ministers for various portfolios and departments as per the advice of the Chief Minister, and together they form the State Cabinet. Actions of individual ministers are part of the collective responsibility of the state cabinet, and the Chief Minister is responsible for the actions of each minister. The state cabinet along with the Chief Minister prepares general policy and individual department policy, which guides the day-to-day administration of each minister.
Council of Ministers
List of cabinets of Tamil Nadu MinistryChief MinisterAssemblyPolitical party1Rajagopalachari IC. Rajagopalachari1stIndian National Congressrowspan=5 2Kamaraj IK. Kamaraj3Kamaraj II2nd4Kamaraj III3rd5Bhakthavatsalam I M. Bhakthavatsalam6Annadurai I C. N. Annadurai4thDravida Munnetra Kazhagamrowspan=4 InterimNedunchezhiyan IV. R. Nedunchezhiyan7 Karunanidhi IM. Karunanidhi8Karunanidhi II5th9MGR I M. G. Ramachandran6thAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamrowspan=5 10MGR II7th11MGR III8thInterimNedunchezhiyan IIV. R. Nedunchezhiyan12Janaki IV. N. Janaki Ramachandran13Third Karunanidhi ministryM. Karunanidhi9thDravida Munnetra Kazhagam14Jayalalithaa IJ. Jayalalithaa10thAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam15Karunanidhi IVM. Karunanidhi11thDravida Munnetra Kazhagam16 Jayalalithaa IIJ. Jayalalithaa12thAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamrowspan=3 17Panneerselvam IO. Panneerselvam18Jayalalithaa IIIJ. Jayalalithaa19Karunanidhi VM. Karunanidhi13thDravida Munnetra Kazhagam20Jayalalithaa IV J. Jayalalithaa14thAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamrowspan=6 21 Panneerselvam IIO. Panneerselvam22Jayalalithaa VJ. Jayalalithaa23Jayalalithaa VI15th24Panneerselvam IO. Panneerselvam25Palaniswami IEdappadi K. Palaniswami26Stalin IM. K. Stalin16thDravida Munnetra Kazhagam27Vijay IC. Joseph Vijay17thTamilaga Vettri Kazhagam
Oath as the state chief minister
See also Government of Tamil Nadu Legislature of Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu List of Tamil Nadu governmental organisations Tamil Nadu Government's Departments Government of India Cabinet of India
References
External links