| S. No. | Names | Term / Tenure |
| 1 | Shri. P. V. Narasimha Rao | 24-01-1986 |
| 2 | Shri. Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow | |
| 3 | Shri. J. R. D. Tata |
| S. No. | Names | Term / Tenure |
| 1 | Prof. Ervin Laszlo | 19-02-1993 to 18-02-1997 |
| 2 | Shri. Federico Mayor | |
| 3 | Shri. Maurice Strong | 19-02-1993 to 21-04-1994 |
| 4 | Shri. Bertrand Schneider | 19-02-1993 to 18-02-1997 |
| 5 | Shri. J. R. D. Tata | 19-02-1993 to 21-04-1994 |
| 6 | Smt. Hanne Strong replaced Shri. Maurice Strong | 22-04-1994 to 18-02-1997 |
| 7 | Shri. N. A. Palkhivala replaced Shri. J. R. D. Tata |
| S. No. | Names | Term / Tenure |
| 1 | Prof. Amartya Sen | 17-12-1997 to 22-03-2001 |
| 2 | Ms. Mary King | 17-12-1997 to 16-12-2001 |
| 3 | Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne | 17-12-1997 to 16-12-2001 |
| 4 | Prof. Norman Myers | 29-01-1999 to 16-12-2001 |
| 5 | Shri. Kireet Joshi | |
| 6 | Shri. Bernard F de Montferrand replaced Prof. Amartya Sen | 23-03-2001 to 16-12-2001 |
| S. No. | Names | Term / Tenure |
| 1 | Prof. Kireet Joshi | 31-05-2004 to 30-06-2004 |
| 2 | Dr. (Smt.) Aster Mira Patel | 31-05-2004 to 26-10-2004 |
| 3 | Shri. Rajiv Malhotra | |
| 4 | Shri. Doudou Diene | 31-05-2004 to 26-10-2008 |
| 5 | Dr. Marc Luyckx Ghisi | |
| 6 | Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne | 27-10-2004 to 16-07-2006 |
| 7 | Shri. Sir Mark Tully | 27-10-2004 to 26-10-2008 |
| 8 | Prof. Diana Eck | 27-10-2004 to 16-07-2006 |
| 9 | Dr. Vishaka N. Desai replaced Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne | 17-07-2006 to 26-10-2008 |
| 10 | Prof. Michael Murphy replaced Prof. Diana Eck |
| S. No. | Names | Term / Tenure |
| 1 | Shri. Julian Lines | 19-01-2009 to 18-01-2013 |
| 2 | Shri. Sir Mark Tully | |
| 3 | Dr. Vishaka N. Desai | |
| 4 | Shri. Doudou Diene | |
| 5 | Dr. Marc Luyckx Ghisi |
| S. No. | Names | Term / Tenure |
| 1 | Dr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi | 14-03-2013 to 25-09-2013 |
| 2 | Shri. Sir Mark Tully | 14-03-2013 to 13-03-2017 |
| 3 | Dr. Vishaka N. Desai | |
| 4 | Mr. Julian Lines | |
| 5 | Dr. Kabir Shaikh | 26-09-2013 to 13-03-2017 |
| 6 | Dr. Shaunaka Rishi Das |