Prime Minister of Travancore

Chief Minister of Kerala
Incumbent Pinarayi Vijayan since 25 May 2016
Residence	Cliff House, Nanathancode, Thiruvananthapuram
Appointer	Governor of Kerala
Inaugural holder	E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Formation	5 April 1957

The Chief Minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the south Indian state of Kerala. 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 Kerala 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.

The origins of Kerala lie in the princely states of Travancore and Cochin. Following India's independence from the British Raj in 1947, these states' rulers instituted a measure of representative government, headed by a Premier and his Council of Ministers. On 1 July 1949 Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin state. In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act redrew India's map along linguistic lines, and the present-day state of Kerala was born, comprising solely Malayalam-speaking districts.

Since 1957, 12 people have served as the Chief Minister of Kerala. The first was E. M. S. Namboodiripad of the Communist Party of India, whose tenure was cut short by the imposition of President's rule. Since 1980 the office has alternated between leaders of the Indian National Congress and of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The incumbent chief minister is Pinarayi Vijayan of the CPI(M), who was sworn in on 25 May 2016.