Meira Kumar
Meira Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Somnath Chatterjee |
| Member of the Lok Sabha for Sasaram, Bihar | |
| Assumed office 2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 March 1945 Patna, Bihar |
| Political party | INC |
| Spouse | Manjul Kumar |
| Children | 1 son and 2 daughters |
| Residence | New Delhi |
As of June 3, 2009 Source: [1] | |
Meira Kumar (born March 31, 1945 is an Indian politician and Member of Parliament. She was elected as the first woman speaker of Lok Sabha on the 3rd of June 2009. She is a lawyer and a former diplomat.
Early life
Meira Kumar was born in Patna to the former Deputy Prime Minister and prominent dalit leader, Babu Jagjivan Ram and freedom fighter, Indrani Devi.
She did her M.A., LL.B, Educated at Indraprastha College and Miranda House, Delhi University.[1]
Career
Foreign Service
In 1973, she joined the Indian Foreign Service and served at embassies in Spain, United Kingdom and Mauritius. She also served as a member of the India-Mauritius Joint Commission. While serving for IFS, she also worked in Embassy of India, Madrid from 1976 to 77. she was the High Commision of India, London from 1977 to 79 and Ministry of External Affairs during 1980-85.
Political career
Meira Kumar entered electoral politics in 1985 and was elected from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh defeating Ram Vilas Paswan and Mayawati, two powerful dalit leaders. She was a member of the eleventh and twelfth Lok Sabha's from Karol Bagh in Delhi. She lost her seat in the BJP wave of 1999, but was able to get re-elected with a record majority from her father's former constituency of Sasaram in Bihar in 2004 and 2009.
She was inducted into the Manmohan Singh cabinet, as Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2004. In 2009 she was briefly inducted as member of the cabinet as Union Minister for Water Resources. On being nominated for the position of speaker, she submitted her resignation three days after assuming ministerial office. She was elected the of Lok Sabha, thereby becoming the first woman speaker of the country. [2]
Reservations
As a dalit leader, she supports Arjun Singh's reservation policy for OBCs. She also wants the govt. to offer a reward of Rs. 50,000 for inter-caste marriages.
Personal life
Meira Kumar is married to Manjul Kumar, a Supreme Court lawyer and they have three children, Anshul, Swati and Devangna.
She is a keen sportswoman and holds medals for rifle shooting. She is also a poetess.