Manmohan Singh
| Dr Manmohan Singh | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth: | September 26, 1932 |
| Place of Birth: | Gah, West Punjab |
| Prime Minister of India | |
| Tenure Order: | 14th Prime Minister |
| Political party: | Congress (I) |
| Took office: | May 22, 2004 |
| Predecessor: | Atal Behari Vajpayee |
Manmohan Singh (ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ in Gurmukhi script मनमोहन सिंह in Devnagari Punjabi) (born September 26, 1932, Gah, West Punjab (now in Pakistan)) is the fourteenth prime minister of India. He is from the left-of-center Indian National Congress party. A member of the Sikh faith, Singh was sworn in on May 22, 2004 as India's first non-Hindu Prime Minister.
A rather low-key politician, Manmohan Singh has had a "squeaky clean" image and was advisor to opposition chief Sonia Gandhi throughout the election campaign in 2004. He was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2002.
Singh has been married since 1958; he and his wife have three daughters.
Economic Reforms
Singh is regarded as the architect of India's original economic reform programme. His policies of economic liberalization, serving in his capacity as finance minister under the government of Narasimha Rao in the mid 1990s, brought the country back from a looming economic bankruptcy. Singh is an economist by training, and has formerly served in the International Monetary Fund. He was educated at Nuffield College, Oxford, St John's College, Cambridge and Punjab University; he holds a doctorate in economics from Oxford.
Although his economic policies - which included the reduction of several redundant socialist policies - were widely popular, especially among the middle class, Singh lost his seat to the Lok Sabha from South Delhi in 1999. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam since 1991 and a leader of the opposition from 1998 - 2004 when India was governed by the right-of-center Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.
Ascent to Power
The Congress alliance won a surprisingly high number of seats in the Parliamentary elections of 2004. The Left Front decided to support a Congress alliance government from outside in order to keep the "communal forces" out of power. Sonia Gandhi was elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party and was expected to become the Prime Minister but in a surprise move, declined to accept the post and instead nominated Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. There were protests within the Congress about her refusal but eventually people accepted her decision and the allies too accepted her choice. Singh secured the nomination for prime minister on May 19, 2004 when President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam officially asked him to form a government.
His appointment is notable as it comes 20 years after India witnessed significant tensions between the Indian central government and the Punjabi Sikh community. After Congress Party Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the mother-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, ordered central government troops to storm the Golden Temple (the holiest site in Sikhism) in Amritsar, Punjab to quell a separatist movement, she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. The result was a tremendous nationwide crisis in which many innocent Sikh civilians were murdered.
Tenure as Prime Minister
Cabinet
Career
- First Class Honours degree in Economics, University of Cambridge, (1957)
- Punjab University, Chandigarh, India
- D.Phil in Economics, Nuffield College at Oxford University, (1962)
- Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
- Economic Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Trade, India (1971-1972)
- Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, India, (1972-1976)
- Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (1976)
- Director, Reserve Bank of India (1976-1980)
- Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (1976-1980)
- Secretary, Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), Government of India, (1977-1980)
- Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1982-1985)
- Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India, (1985-1987)
- Advisor to Prime Minister of India on Economic Affairs (1990-1991)
- Finance Minister of India, (June 21, 1991 - May 15, 1996)
- Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha
- Prime Minister of India (May 22,2004 - Present)
| Preceded by Atal Behari Vajpayee |
Prime Minister of India 2004—present |
Succeeded by current |
External links
- Profile of Manmohan Singh from Nilacharal
- Prime Minister's Office - Official page includes profile, etc
- India's architect of reforms - BBC NEWS
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