The Lok Sabha Speakers list is a high-frequency topic in UPSC Prelims, SSC CGL, Banking General Awareness, and State PSC exams — appearing in both static polity and current affairs sections.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the constitutional head of the lower house of India\u2019s Parliament, elected by Lok Sabha members under Article 93. India has had 18 Speakers across 18 Lok Sabhas since 1952. This page gives you a complete, updated list with tenures, notable firsts, constitutional powers, and exam-critical facts for confident revision.
⚡ Quick Facts
- G.V. Mavalankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha (1952\u20131956) and is called the \u201cFather of Lok Sabha.\u201d
- Meira Kumar (2009\u20132014) was the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha \u2014 also the first Dalit woman Speaker.
- Om Birla has served as Speaker of both the 17th (2019\u20132024) and 18th Lok Sabha (2024\u2013present), becoming the 5th Speaker to serve consecutive terms \u2014 and the first since G.M.C. Balayogi (12th & 13th LS, 1998\u20132002).
- The Speaker presides over joint sittings of both Houses under Article 118.
- The Speaker casts the deciding vote in case of a tie but does NOT vote in ordinary circumstances.
The Speaker does NOT vacate office when the Lok Sabha is dissolved \u2014 the Speaker vacates office only when the new Lok Sabha meets for the first time after a general election. Also, the Speaker does NOT vote in ordinary proceedings \u2014 they cast the casting (deciding) vote ONLY in case of a tie. And the Speaker decides on Money Bills (Article 110) and Anti-Defection disqualifications (10th Schedule) \u2014 both decisions are final and cannot be challenged in court.
✅ My Progress Tracker
🏛️ Complete List of Lok Sabha Speakers
| # ↕ | Speaker ↕ | Lok Sabha | Tenure (From) ↕ | Full Tenure | State ↕ | Notable Fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G.V. Mavalankar | 1st | 1952 | 15 May 1952 \u2013 27 Feb 1956 | Gujarat | First Speaker; \u201cFather of Lok Sabha\u201d; died in office |
| 2 | M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar | 1st & 2nd | 1956 | 8 Mar 1956 \u2013 16 Apr 1962 | Tamil Nadu | Completed Mavalankar\u2019s term; re-elected for 2nd Lok Sabha |
| 3 | Sardar Hukam Singh | 3rd | 1962 | 17 Apr 1962 \u2013 16 Mar 1967 | Punjab | First Sikh Speaker of Lok Sabha |
| 4 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 4th | 1967 | 17 Mar 1967 \u2013 19 Jul 1969 | Andhra Pradesh | Resigned to contest 1969 Presidential election; lost to V.V. Giri; became 6th President in 1977 |
| 5 | Gurdial Singh Dhillon | 4th & 5th | 1969 | 8 Aug 1969 \u2013 1 Dec 1975 | Punjab | Served across two Lok Sabhas; resigned during Emergency |
| 6 | Bali Ram Bhagat | 5th | 1976 | 15 Jan 1976 \u2013 25 Mar 1977 | Bihar | Speaker during Emergency period (1975\u201377) |
| 7 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (2nd stint) | 6th | 1977 | 26 Mar 1977 \u2013 13 Jul 1977 | Andhra Pradesh | Only Speaker to serve twice; later elected President of India |
| 8 | K.S. Hegde | 6th | 1977 | 21 Jul 1977 \u2013 21 Jan 1980 | Karnataka | Former Supreme Court judge; chaired election reform debates |
| 9 | Balram Jakhar | 7th & 8th | 1980 | 22 Jan 1980 \u2013 18 Dec 1989 | Rajasthan | Longest-serving Speaker \u2014 nearly 10 years; two consecutive Lok Sabhas |
| 10 | Rabi Ray | 9th | 1989 | 19 Dec 1989 \u2013 9 Jul 1991 | Odisha | Speaker during V.P. Singh government; brief tenure |
| 11 | Shivraj Patil | 10th | 1991 | 10 Jul 1991 \u2013 22 May 1996 | Maharashtra | Later became Home Minister and Governor of Punjab |
| 12 | P.A. Sangma | 11th | 1996 | 25 May 1996 \u2013 23 Mar 1998 | Meghalaya | First Speaker from Northeast India; later contested Presidential election |
| 13 | G.M.C. Balayogi | 12th & 13th | 1998 | 24 Mar 1998 \u2013 3 Mar 2002 | Andhra Pradesh | Died in helicopter crash in office (2002) \u2014 second Speaker to die in office |
| 14 | Manohar Joshi | 13th | 2002 | 10 May 2002 \u2013 2 Jun 2004 | Maharashtra | Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra |
| 15 | Somnath Chatterjee | 14th | 2004 | 4 Jun 2004 \u2013 30 May 2009 | West Bengal | CPI(M) leader; expelled from party for not resigning as Speaker |
| 16 | Meira Kumar | 15th | 2009 | 4 Jun 2009 \u2013 4 Jun 2014 | Bihar | First woman Speaker & first Dalit woman Speaker of Lok Sabha |
| 17 | Sumitra Mahajan | 16th | 2014 | 6 Jun 2014 \u2013 16 Jun 2019 | Madhya Pradesh | Second woman Speaker; known as \u201cTai\u201d (elder sister) |
| 18 | Om Birla | 17th & 18th | 2019 | 19 Jun 2019 \u2013 present | Rajasthan | 5th Speaker to serve consecutive terms; first since G.M.C. Balayogi; current Speaker |
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📝 Key Notes & Memory Tips
G.V. Mavalankar is called the \u201cFather of Lok Sabha\u201d \u2014 he was the first Speaker (1952) and also served as the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly (Legislative) before the first Lok Sabha. He died in office on 27 February 1956, making him the first Speaker to die while holding office. M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar completed his remaining term.
- First Speaker: G.V. Mavalankar (1952)
- First Sikh Speaker: Sardar Hukam Singh (3rd LS, 1962\u20131967)
- First Speaker from Northeast: P.A. Sangma (11th LS, 1996\u20131998)
- First Woman Speaker: Meira Kumar (15th LS, 2009\u20132014) \u2014 also first Dalit woman Speaker
- Second Woman Speaker: Sumitra Mahajan (16th LS, 2014\u20132019)
- Only Speaker to serve twice: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (4th and 6th LS)
- Longest-serving Speaker: Balram Jakhar (~10 years, 7th & 8th LS)
The Speaker is elected by Lok Sabha members under Article 93. The Speaker does NOT vote in ordinary proceedings but casts the deciding (casting) vote only in case of a tie. Critically, the Speaker does NOT vacate office when the Lok Sabha is dissolved \u2014 the Speaker vacates office only when the new Lok Sabha meets for the first time after a general election. This is a critical distinction frequently tested in exams.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over joint sittings of both Houses under Article 118. Joint sittings have been convened only THREE times in Indian history: (1) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (2) Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Act, 1978 (3) Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002
G.M.C. Balayogi died in a helicopter crash on 3 March 2002 \u2014 the second Speaker to die in office after Mavalankar. Somnath Chatterjee (14th LS) was expelled from CPI(M) while serving as Speaker because he refused to resign despite the party withdrawing support from the UPA government \u2014 a rare and much-discussed constitutional convention question.
\u201cMavalankar Ananthasayanam Hukam Neelam Gurdial\u201d
M = Mavalankar | A = Ananthasayanam Ayyangar | H = Hukam Singh | N = Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | G = Gurdial Singh Dhillon
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🧩 Practice Quiz
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G.V. Mavalankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha, serving from 15 May 1952 until his death on 27 February 1956. He is reverentially called the \u201cFather of Lok Sabha\u201d for establishing its rules, procedures, and democratic traditions. He also served as the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly (Legislative).
Meira Kumar served as the 15th Lok Sabha Speaker from 4 June 2009 to 4 June 2014, becoming the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha. She is also the first Dalit woman Speaker. Sumitra Mahajan was the second woman Speaker (16th LS, 2014\u20132019).
Article 93 of the Indian Constitution provides that the House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall choose two members to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The Speaker is elected by Lok Sabha members from among themselves by a simple majority.
Article 118 empowers the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to preside over joint sittings of both Houses of Parliament. Joint sittings have been convened only three times in Indian history \u2014 for the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Act (1978), and the Prevention of Terrorism Act/POTA (2002).
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy served as Speaker of the 4th Lok Sabha (1967\u20131969) and again for the 6th Lok Sabha (1977). He went on to become the 6th President of India (1977\u20131982), making him the only person to have served as both Speaker of the Lok Sabha and President of India.
✅ Key Takeaways
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Om Birla is the current Speaker of the Lok Sabha, presiding over the 18th Lok Sabha (2024\u2013present). He was first elected Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha in June 2019 and was re-elected as Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha in June 2024 \u2014 making him the 5th Speaker to serve consecutive Lok Sabhas, after M.A. Ayyangar, G.S. Dhillon, Balram Jakhar, and G.M.C. Balayogi. Om Birla is a BJP MP from Kota constituency in Rajasthan.
Meira Kumar was the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha, serving as Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha from 4 June 2009 to 4 June 2014. She is also notable for being the first Dalit woman to hold this position. She is the daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram. Sumitra Mahajan (16th LS, 2014\u20132019), popularly called \u201cTai,\u201d was the second woman Speaker.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha exercises several important constitutional powers. These include presiding over all Lok Sabha sessions and maintaining order, deciding whether a bill is a Money Bill (Article 110) \u2014 a decision that is final and cannot be questioned in any court, presiding over joint sittings of both Houses (Article 118), certifying bills for transmission to the Rajya Sabha, deciding questions of disqualification of members under the Anti-Defection Law (10th Schedule), and casting the deciding vote in case of a tie. The Speaker vacates office when the new Lok Sabha meets after a general election, not when the House is dissolved.
The Lok Sabha Speakers list is consistently tested in UPSC Prelims (Polity and Current Affairs), SSC CGL, Banking General Awareness, and State PSC exams. Key tested facts include the first Speaker (Mavalankar), the \u201cFather of Lok Sabha\u201d title, the first and second woman Speakers (Meira Kumar and Sumitra Mahajan), the longest-serving Speaker (Balram Jakhar), Neelam Sanjiva Reddy\u2019s dual role as Speaker and President, constitutional articles governing the Speaker (93, 118), the Speaker\u2019s role in Money Bill certification and Anti-Defection decisions, and the current Speaker (Om Birla). Joint sitting history (only 3 times) is a high-frequency one-liner question.
