The chief minister of Meghalaya is the chief executive of the Indian state of Meghalaya. 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 Meghalaya 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 is 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.[1] Chief Minister also serves as Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly.[3]

Since 1970, twelve people have served as chief minister of Meghalaya. Six of these belonged to the Indian National Congress, including the inaugural officeholder Williamson A. Sangma. The current incumbent is Conrad Sangma of the National People's Party since 6 March 2018.

Oath as the state chief minister

The chief minister serves five years in the office. The following is the oath of the Deputy chief minister of state:

† Died in office
  • § Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term

    • Autonomous state of Meghalaya (1970–1972)

    # Portrait Minister
    (Birth-Death)
    Constituency    		 Election Term of office[4] Political party Ministry
    From To Period
    1 Williamson A. Sangma
    (1919–1990)
    MLA for Baghmara    		 –
    (Interim)    		 2 April 1970 20 January 1972 1 year, 293 days All Party Hill Leaders Conference Williamson I

    Meghalaya state (1972–present)

    # Portrait Minister
    (Birth-Death)
    Constituency    		 Election Term of office[4] Political party Ministry
    From To Period
    (1) Williamson A. Sangma
    (1919–1990)
    MLA for Baghmara    		 –
    (Interim)    		 21 January 1972 18 March 1972 6 years, 41 days All Party Hill Leaders Conference Williamson I
    1972
    (1st)    		 18 March 1972 16 November 1976 Williamson II
    16 November 1976 3 March 1978 Indian National Congress
    2 Darwin Diengdoh Pugh
    (1927–2008)
    MLA for Mawkhar    		 1978
    (2nd)    		 10 March 1978 6 May 1979 1 year, 57 days All Party Hill Leaders Conference Pugh
    3 B. B. Lyngdoh
    (1922–2003)
    MLA for Lyngkyrdem    		 7 May 1979 7 May 1981 2 years, 0 days Lyngdoh I
    (1) Williamson A. Sangma
    (1919–1990)
    MLA for Baghmara    		 7 May 1981[§] 2 March 1983 1 year, 299 days Indian National Congress Williamson III
    (3) B. B. Lyngdoh
    (1922–2003)
    MLA for Lyngkyrdem    		 1983
    (3rd)    		 2 March 1983[§] 1 April 1983 30 days All Party Hill Leaders Conference Lyngdoh II
    (1) Williamson A. Sangma
    (1919–1990)
    MLA for Baghmara    		 2 April 1983[§] 5 February 1988 4 years, 309 days Indian National Congress Williamson IV
    4 Purno Agitok Sangma
    (1947–2016)
    MLA for Tura    		 1988
    (4th)    		 6 February 1988 25 March 1990 2 years, 47 days Purno
    (3) B. B. Lyngdoh
    (1922–2003)
    MLA for Lyngkyrdem    		 26 March 1990[§] 10 October 1991 1 year, 198 days Hill People's Union Lyngdoh III
    Position vacant (11 October 1991 – 5 February 1992)
    President's rule was imposed during this period[a]
    5 D. D. Lapang
    (1934-2025)
    MLA for Nongpoh    		 –
    (4th)    		 5 February 1992 19 February 1993 1 year, 14 days Indian National Congress Lapang I
    6 S. C. Marak
    (1941–2024)
    MLA for Resubelpara    		 1993
    (5th)    		 19 February 1993 27 February 1998 5 years, 19 days Marak I
    1998
    (6th)    		 27 February 1998 10 March 1998 Marak II
    (3) B. B. Lyngdoh
    (1922–2003)
    MLA for Lyngkyrdem    		 10 March 1998[§] 8 March 2000 1 year, 364 days United Democratic Party Lyngdoh IV
    7 E. K. Mawlong
    (1946–2008)
    MLA for Umroi    		 8 March 2000 8 December 2001 1 year, 275 days Mawlong
    8 Flinder Anderson Khonglam
    (1945–2012)
    MLA for Sohra    		 8 December 2001 4 March 2003 1 year, 86 days Independent Khonglam
    (5) D. D. Lapang
    (1934-2025)
    MLA for Nongpoh    		 2003
    (7th)    		 4 March 2003[§] 15 June 2006 3 years, 103 days Indian National Congress Lapang II
    9 J. Dringwell Rymbai
    (1934–2022)
    MLA for Jirang    		 15 June 2006 10 March 2007 268 days Rymbai
    (5) D. D. Lapang
    (1934-2025)
    MLA for Nongpoh    		 10 March 2007[§] 10 March 2008 1 year, 9 days Lapang III
    2008
    (8th)    		 10 March 2008 19 March 2008 Lapang IV
    10 Donkupar Roy
    (1954–2019)
    MLA for Shella    		 19 March 2008 19 March 2009 1 year, 0 days United Democratic Party Roy
    Position vacant (19 March – 12 May 2009)
    President's rule was imposed during this period[a]
    (5) D. D. Lapang
    (1934-2025)
    MLA for Nongpoh    		 –
    (8th)    		 13 May 2009[§] 19 April 2010 341 days Indian National Congress Lapang V
    11 Mukul Sangma
    (born 1965)
    MLA for Ampati    		 20 April 2010 5 March 2013 7 years, 320 days Mukul I
    2013
    (9th)    		 5 March 2013 6 March 2018 Mukul II
    12 Conrad Sangma
    (born 1978)
    MLA for South Tura    		 2018
    (10th)    		 6 March 2018 7 March 2023 8 years, 133 days National People's Party Conrad I
    2023
    (11th)    		 7 March 2023 Incumbent Conrad II

    Statistics

    # Chief Minister Party Term of office
    Longest continuous term Total duration of chief ministership
    Williamson A. Sangma APHLC/INC 7 years, 335 days 14 years, 207 days
    Conrad Sangma NPP 8 years, 133 days 8 years, 133 days
    Mukul Sangma INC 7 years, 320 days 7 years, 320 days
    B. B. Lyngdoh INC 2 years, 0 days 6 years, 102 days
    D. D. Lapang INC 3 years, 103 days 5 years, 226 days
    P. A. Sangma INC 2 years, 47 days 2 years, 47 days
    S. C. Marak INC 5 years, 19 days 5 years, 19 days
    E. K. Mawlong IND 1 year, 275 days 1 year, 275 days
    Flinder Anderson Khonglam APHLC 1 year, 86 days 1 year, 86 days
    Darwin Diengdoh Pugh APHLC 1 year, 57 days 1 year, 57 days
    Donkupar Roy UDP 1 year, 0 days 1 year, 0 days
    J. Dringbell Rymbai INC 268 days 268 days

    See also

    Notes

    Footnotes
    1. 1 2 President's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[5]
    References
    1. 1 2 Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Meghalaya as well.
    2. ↑ "Meghalaya Assembly Passes Bill to Double MLAs' Salaries". The Northeast Today. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
    3. ↑ https://apuat21.cgg.gov.in/web/legislative-assembly/leader-of-the-house
    4. 1 2 "NAME OF THE GOVERNORS/CHIEF MINISTER AND CHAIN OF EVENTS IN MEGHALAYA". Archived from the original on 9 January 2009.
    5. ↑ Amberish K. Diwanji. "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005.
    source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Minister_of_Meghalaya