| S. No. | Chief Minister | From | To | Party Name |
|---|
| 1 | Nitish Kumar | 22 Feb 2015 | Incumbent | JD(U) |
| 2 | Jitan Ram Manjhi | 20 May 2014 | 22 Feb 2015 | JD(U) |
| 3 | Nitish Kumar | 24 Nov 2005 | 19 May 2014 | JD(U) |
| President's rule | 7 Mar 2005 | 24 Nov 2005 | - | |
| 4 | Rabri Devi | 11 Mar 2000 | 6 Mar 2005 | RJD |
| 5 | Nitish Kumar | 3 Mar 2000 | 10 Mar 2000 | JD(U) |
| 6 | Rabri Devi | 9 Mar 1999 | 2 Mar 2000 | RJD |
| President's rule | 11 Feb 1999 | 9 Mar 1999 | - | |
| 7 | Rabri Devi | 25 Jul 1997 | 11 Feb 1999 | RJD |
| 8 | Lalu Prasad Yadav | 4 Apr 1995 | 25 Jul 1997 | JD, RJD |
| President's rule | 28 Mar 1995 | 4 Apr 1995 | - | |
| 9 | Lalu Prasad Yadav | 10 Mar 1990 | 28 Mar 1995 | JD |
| 10 | Jagannath Mishra | 6 Dec 1989 | 10 Mar 1990 | INC (I) |
| 11 | Satyendra Narayan Sinha | 11 Mar 1989 | 6 Dec 1989 | INC (I) |
| 12 | Bhagwat Jha Azad | 14 Feb 1988 | 10 Mar 1989 | INC (I) |
| 13 | Bindeshwari Dubey | 12 Mar 1985 | 13 Feb 1988 | INC (I) |
| 14 | Chandrashekhar Singh | 14 Aug 1983 | 12 Mar 1985 | INC (I) |
| 15 | Jagannath Mishra | 8 Jun 1980 | 14 Aug 1983 | INC (I) |
| President's rule | 17 Feb 1980 | 8 Jun 1980 | - | |
| 16 | Ram Sundar Das | 21 Apr 1979 | 17 Feb 1980 | JNP |
| 17 | Karpoori Thakur | 24 Jun 1977 | 21 Apr 1979 | JNP |
| President's rule | 30 Apr 1977 | 24 Jun 1977 | - | |
| 18 | Jagannath Mishra | 11 Apr 1975 | 30 Apr 1977 | INC |
| 19 | Abdul Ghafoor | 2 Jul 1973 | 11 Apr 1975 | INC |
| 20 | Kedar Pandey | 19 Mar 1972 | 2 Jul 1973 | INC |
| President's rule | 9 Jan 1972 | 19 Mar 1972 | - | |
| 21 | Bhola Paswan Shastri | 2 Jun 1971 | 9 Jan 1972 | INC |
| 22 | Karpoori Thakur | 22 Dec 1970 | 2 Jun 1971 | Socialist Party |
| 23 | Daroga Prasad Rai | 16 Feb 1970 | 22 Dec 1970 | INC |
| President's rule | 6 Jul 1969 | 16 Feb 1970 | - | |
| 24 | Bhola Paswan Shastri | 22 Jun 1969 | 4 Jul 1969 | INC (O) |
| 25 | Harihar Singh | 26 Feb 1969 | 22 Jun 1969 | INC |
| President's rule | 29 Jun 1968 | 26 Feb 1969 | - | |
| 26 | Bhola Paswan Shastri | 22 Mar 1968 | 29 Jun 1968 | INC (O) |
| 27 | B. P. Mandal | 1 Feb 1968 | 2 Mar 1968 | INC |
| 28 | Satish Prasad Singh | 28 Jan 1968 | 1 Feb 1968 | INC |
| 29 | Mahamaya Prasad Sinha | 5 Mar 1967 | 28 Jan 1968 | JKD |
| 30 | K. B. Sahay | 2 Oct 1963 | 5 Mar 1967 | INC |
| 31 | Binodanand Jha | 18 Feb 1961 | 2 Oct 1963 | INC |
| 32 | Deep Narayan Singh | 1 Feb 1961 | 18 Feb 1961 | INC |
| 33 | Krishna Singh | 2 Apr 1946 | 31 Jan 1961 | INC |
Krishna Singh
Also known as Sri Babu and Bihar Kesari, Sri Krishna Singh served as the first Chief Minister of Bihar from 1946 to 1961. He, along with Dr. Rajendra Prasad (First President of India) and Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha, is often regarded as one of the architects of modern Bihar. Krishna Singh is credited to be the first Chief Minister in India to have abolished the 'Zamindari' system. He also served as the Finance Minister of Bihar (1957-1961) while dispensing his duties as the Chief Minister. He was a Gandhian freedom fighter who played a crucial role in Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent movement for India's independence.
Deep Narayan Singh
Deep Narayan Singh was the second Chief Minister of Bihar, but served the office for a very brief period of 18 days between 1 February 1961 and 18 February 1961. He was also a part of the Indian Independence Movement and was a member of the Constituent Assembly – an elected body that was formed for the purpose of drafting the Constitution of India.
Pandit Binodanand Jha
Pandit Binodanand Jha served as the third Chief Minister of Bihar from 18 February 1961 to 2 October 1963. He became a member of the Fifth Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament) after he got elected from the Darbhanga parliamentary constituency of Bihar in 1971. Binodanand Jha was also a member of the Constituent Assembly.
Krishna Ballabh Sahay was the fourth head of the state government in Bihar who served from 2 October 1963 to 5 March 1967. He earlier held the post of the Revenue Minister of Bihar between 1947 and 1962. Sahay was one of the members of the Constituent Assembly from Bihar and a close associate of Krishna Singh, the first Chief Minister of the state.
Mahamaya Prasad Sinha
Mahamaya Prasad Sinha was the first Non-Congressman to have been elected as the Chief Minister of Bihar. He remained in office for 330 days from 5 March 1967 to 28 January 1968. Sinha belonged to the Jana Kranti Dal and was also elected to the Sixth Lok Sabha in 1977 from Patna parliamentary constituency.
Satish Prasad Singh
Satish Prasad Singh served as the sixth Chief Minister of Bihar but only for five days between 28 January 1968 and 1 February 1968. He was elected to the lower house of parliament (the Seventh Lok Sabha) from the Khagaria parliamentary constituency in 1980.
Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal succeeded Satish Prasad Singh as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 1 February 1968 and was the seventh person to serve as the Chief Minister of the state. He had a very brief tenure (only 31 days) that lasted till 2 March 1968. Mandal was the first Chief Minister of Bihar coming from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). He would later serve as the chairperson of the controversial Mandal Commission (officially, Second Backward Classes Commission).
Bhola Paswan Shastri
The Eighth Chief Minister of Bihar was Bhola Paswan Shastri. He held the position thrice. His first stint lasted from 22 March 1968 to 29 June 1968, second one from 22 June 1969 to 4 July 1969, and the last one between 2 June 1971 and 9 January 1972.
Harihar Singh
Harihar Singh was the Ninth Chief Minister of Bihar who held his office from 26 February 1969 to 22 June 1969. He was the first Chief Minister of the state who rose to the post following a President's Rule in Bihar. The first ever President's Rule in Bihar lasted for close to eight months from June 1968 to February 1969.
Daroga Prasad Rai
Daroga Prasad Rai was the 10th Chief Minister of the state of Bihar, serving the office from 16 February 1970 to 22 December 1970. He became the Chief Minister of the state following a second President's Rule in Bihar.
Karpoori Thakur
Karpoori Thakur became the 11th Chief Minister of Bihar. He remained in the office of the Chief Minister from 22 December 1970 to 2 June 1971. He again served as the Chief Minister from December 1977 to April 1979. Thakur joined the Quit India Movement in 1942 and served a jail term for over a year. He was the Deputy Chief Minister during Mahamaya Prasad Sinha's government. He also worked in the capacity of the Education Minister of Bihar between March 1967 and January 1968.
Kedar Pandey
Kedar Pandey was elected as the 12th Chief Minister of Bihar in 1972. However, he could not serve a five-year term as he had to give up the post in July 1973. He later served as the Union Minister for Railways in the Indira Gandhi-led Central government from November 1980 to January 1982.
Abdul Gafoor
Abdul Gafoor succeeded Kedar Pandey as the Chief Minister of Bihar and was the 13th person to serve the office. He remained in office for close to two years from 2 July 1973 to 11 April 1975. He was a cabinet minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government (1984-1989).
Jagannath Mishra
Jagannath Mishra served as the 14th Chief Minister of Bihar. His tenure as the head of the government in the state was from 11 April 1975 to 30 April 1977. He again served as the Chief Minister of the state from June 1980 to August 1983 and then from December 1989 to March 1990. He was one of the 44 people convicted in the Fodder Scam and was given a jail term for about four years in 2013. Mishra was first a Congress member before he moved to the NCP. He is now one of the senior JD (U) leaders.
Ram Sundar Das
Ram Sundar Das was the 15th Chief Minister of Bihar between 21 April 1979 and 17 February 1980. He was the second person representing the Janata Party to have held this office after Karpoori Thakur. He was a member of the 10th Lok Sabha and was elected from the Hajipur parliamentary constituency.
Chandrashekhar Singh
Chandrashekhar Singh served as the 16th Chief Minister of the state of Bihar. His term started on 14 August 1983 and ended on 12 March 1985. The five-time parlaimentarian held a number of cabinet positions in the governments of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Bindeshwari Dubey
The 17th Chief Minister of Bihar was Bindeshwari Dubey who remained in the office from 12 March 1985 to 13 February 1988. He was another Chief Minister of Bihar who was also a freedom fighter. Dubey also served as the Minister of Labour, Law and Justice in the cabinet of Rajiv Gandhi. He was a member of the Seventh Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1984 and remained a Rajya Sabha member until his death in 1988.
Bhagwat Jha Azad
Bhagwat Jha Azad was the 18th Chief Minister of Bihar holding the office from 14 February 1988 to 10 March 1989. He was the father of the former Indian cricketer and present parliamentarian Kirti Azad. He was elected to the Lok Sabha six times from the Bhagalpur parliamentary constituency of Bihar.
Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Satyendra Narayan Sinha was the 19th Chief Minister of Bihar. He remained in office from 11 March 1989 to 6 December 1989. He also held the portfolio of Bihar’s Education Minister twice. Sinha was a Member of Parliament from Aurangabad twice. He never capitalised on the opportunities that came his way to become the Chief Minister, but played a Kingmaker instead.
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav was elected as the 20th Chief Minister of Bihar and served two separate terms: first from 10 March 1990 to 28 March 1995 and then a second term from 4 April 1995 to 25 July 1997. He was the first Chief Minister since Krishna Singh to have successfully served a full five-year term. Lalu Prasad served as the Union Minister of Railways during UPA-I from 2004 to 2009. His membership as a parliamentarian in the 15th Lok Sabha was terminated after he was convicted as a key conspirator in the Fodder Scam.
Rabri Devi
Rabri Devi, wife of her predecessor Lalu Prasad Yadav, became the 21st Chief Minister of Bihar serving three different terms. Her first stint as the Chief Minister of Bihar was from 25 July 1997 to 11 February 1999, the second term was between 9 March 1999 and 2 March 2000 and the last one from 11 March 2000 to 6 March 2005. She has the honour of being the first and the only woman Chief Minister of Bihar till date.
Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar is the 22nd and the incumbent Chief Minister of Bihar. He was elected as the first Chief Minister of the divided Bihar, but remained in office for just eight days in his very first stint. He was then elected the state's Chief Minister after the 2005 assembly elections and again in the 2010 elections. He gave up his office in 2014 due to his party Janata Dal United's poor performance in the parliamentary elections that year and made way for Jitan Ram Manjhi. The JD (U) expelled Manjhi from the primary membership of the party in February 2015 and Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the state's Chief Minister again.
Jitan Ram Manjhi
Jitan Ram Manjhi was the 23rd Chief Minister of Bihar as he took over from his predecessor Nitish Kumar after the latter resigned from his post following JD (U)'s drubbing in the 2014 General Elections. During his stint as the Chief Minister of the state, Manjhi made a number of controversial statements on various issues. This prompted Nitish Kumar to ask Manjhi to step down from his post, which Manjhi paid no heed to. He was eventually shown the door and expelled from the party and Nitish Kumar took over from him in February 2015.