The Diwan or Dewan of Travancore was the head of government of Travancore in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, serving at the pleasure of the Maharaja, corresponding to a prime minister, and consisting in the formal titles ValiyaSarvadhikaryakar and Dalawa until the insurrection of Velu Thampi Dalawa and administrative reforms of John Munro. Post-Munro, the title of Dalawa, which remained formally the highest ranking established office, though administratively impotent, was revived as a sinecure to sideline Raman Menon and remove him from the Diwanship. The office of Diwan existed until 1948, when it gave way to the office of Prime Minister of Travancore.
| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Term [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. Madhava Rao | | 1858 | 1872 | 1 |
| A. Seshayya Sastri | | 1872 | 1877 | 1 |
| Nanoo Pillai | | 1877 | 1880 | 1 |
| V. Ramiengar | | 1880 | 1887 | 1 |
| T. Rama Rao | | 1887 | 1892 | 1 |
| S. Shungrasoobyer | 1892 | 1898 | 1 | |
| K. Krishnaswamy Rao | | 15 April 1898 | 13 March 1904 | 1 |
| V. P. Madhava Rao | | 14 March 1904 | 26 March 1906 | 1 |
| S. Gopalachari | | 16 August 1906 | 26 October 1907 | 1 |
| P. Rajagopalachari | 26 October 1907 | 11 May 1914 | 1 | |
| M. Krishnan Nair | | 11 May 1914 | 7 July 1920 | 1 |
| T. Raghavaiah | | 8 July 1920 | 18 May 1925 | 1 |
| M. E. Watts | | 1925 | 1929 | 1 |
| V. S. Subramanya Iyer | | 1929 | 1932 | 1 |
| Thomas Austin | | 1932 | 1934 | 1 |
| Muhammad Habibullah | | 1934 | 1936 | 1 |
| C. P. Ramaswami Iyer | | 1936 | 1947 | 1 |
| P. G. N. Unnithan | 1947 | 1948 | 1 | |