List of speakers of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Speaker
| body = the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
| department = Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
| termlength = During the life of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (five years maximum)
| member_of = Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
| appointer = Members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
| deputy = K. Pitchandi
| inaugural = Pulavar K. Govindan
| incumbent = Hon'ble M. Appavu
| incumbentsince = 12 May 2021
| insignia = File:TamilNadu Logo.svg
| insigniasize = 280
| insigniacaption = Emblem of Tamil Nadu
}}
{{Politics of Tamil Nadu}}
The Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu, the main law-making body for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is elected by the members of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (until 1968, the Madras Legislative Assembly). The speaker is always a member of the Legislative Assembly.
List of presidents of the Madras Legislative Council
Madras Legislative Council, the first representative legislature for the Madras Presidency (political predecessor for Tamil Nadu) was inaugurated in December 1920 as per the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. The presiding officer of the council was known as the President. The first President, Sir P. Rajagopalachari was not elected but nominated and took office on 17 December 1920.
| class="wikitable"
! # ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Political party ! Term |
| 1
| 1920 | February 1925 | | 1 |
| 2
| February 1925 | September 1925 | |1 |
| 3
| September 1925 | 1926 | | 1 |
| 4
| 1926 | 1930 | |1 |
| 5
| 1930 | 1937 | | 1 |
List of chairmen of Madras Legislative Council
With the introduction of provincial autonomy in 1937, the Council became the upper chamber of a bicameral legislature. The presiding officer of the council was called as the "Chairman of the Council". This agreement continued in the Republic of India as well till the council's abolition in 1986.
| class="wikitable"
! # ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Political party |
| 1
| 1937 | 1945 |
| 2
| 1946 | 1952 | Indian National Congress |
| 3
| 1952 | 20 April 1964 |Indian National Congress |
| 4
| 1964 | 1970 |Indian National Congress |
| 5
| 1970 | 1976 |
| 6
| 1976 | 1986 |
List of speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Madras Presidency
The Government of India Act of 1935 abolished dyarchy and ensured provincial autonomy. It created a bicameral legislature in the Madras Presidency. The legislature consisted of the governor and two legislative bodies – a legislative assembly and a legislative council. The presiding officer of the assembly was called the "Speaker".
| class="wikitable"
! # ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Political party ! Term ! Deputy Speaker |
| 1
| 1937 | 1942 | | 1 | Rukmini Lakshmipathi{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/Historic-moments-historic-personalities/article16566829.ece|title=Historic moments, historic personalities|date=13 March 2010|via=www.thehindu.com}} |
| | No AssemblyElections were not held in 1942 and no new Assembly was constituted during 1942-46
| 1942 | 1946 | | 1 |
| 2
| 1946 | 1952 | | 1 |
List of speakers
=Madras State=
Madras State, precursor to the present day state of Tamil Nadu, was created after Indian independence on 26 January 1950.{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_states.html|title=Indian states since 1947|website=www.worldstatesmen.org}} It comprised present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The first legislature of the Madras State to be elected on the basis of universal suffrage was constituted on 1 March 1952, after the general elections held in January 1952.[http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/history/history.htm Government of Tamil Nadu — The State Legislature — Origin and Evolution] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413233934/http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/history/history.htm |date=2010-04-13 }}
= Tamil Nadu =
Madras was renamed Tamil Nadu in January 1969.
| class="wikitable sortable"
! No. ! Name ! Took office ! Left office ! Political party ! Term ! Deputy Speaker |
| rowspan =2| 1
| rowspan =2| Pulavar K. Govindan | 22 February 1969 | 14 March 1971 | rowspan =4| DMK | rowspan ="2" | 2 |
|---|
| 3 August 1973
| 3 July 1977 |
| 2
| 24 March 1971 | 2 December 1972 |1 |
| Acting
| P. Seenivasan (Acting Speaker) | 2 December 1972 | 3 August 1973 | 1 | |
| 4
| 6 July 1977 | 18 June 1980 | AIADMK | 1 |
| 5
| 21 June 1980 | 24 February 1985 | AIADMK | 1 |
| 6
| 27 February 1985 | 5 February 1989 | AIADMK | 1 |
| 7
| 8 February 1989 | 30 June 1991 | DMK | 1 |
| 8
| 3 July 1991 | 21 May 1996 | AIADMK | 1 | K. Ponnuswamy (1991-1993), |
| 9
| 23 May 1996 | 21 May 2001 | DMK | 1 |
| 10
| 24 May 2001 | 1 February 2006 | AIADMK | 1 |
| Acting
| A. Arunachalam (Acting Speaker) | 1 February 2006 | 12 May 2006 | AIADMK | 1 | |
| 11
| 19 May 2006 | 15 May 2011 | DMK | 1 |
| 12
| 27 May 2011 | 29 September 2012 | AIADMK | 1 |
| 13
| 10 October 2012 | 3 May 2021 | AIADMK | 2 |
| 14
|12 May 2021 |Incumbent | DMK | 1 |
colspan="7" | Sources:
|