Shri. Pranab Mukherjee assumed office as the 13th President of India on July 25, 2012, crowning a political career of over five decades of e...
Shri. Pranab Mukherjee assumed office as the 13th President of India on July 25, 2012, crowning a political career of over five decades of exemplary service to the nation in Government as well as Parliament.
Seventy six years old, Shri Mukherjee is a man of unparalleled experience in governance with the rare distinction of having served at different times as Foreign, Defence, Commerce and Finance Minister. He was elected to the Upper House of the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) five times from 1969 and twice to the Lower House of the Parliament (Lok Sabha) from 2004. He was a member of the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy making body of the Party for a period of 23 years.
During the period 2004-2012, Shri Mukherjee was instrumental in spearheading critical decisions of the Government on a range of issues such as Administrative reforms, Right to Information, Right to Employment, Food Security, Energy Security, Information Technology and telecommunication, setting up of UIDAI, Metro Rail etc. through Chairmanship of over 95 Groups of Ministers constituted for the purpose. In seventies and eighties, he was instrumental in setting up the Regional Rural Banks (1975) and the EXIM Bank of India as well as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (1981-82). Shri Mukherjee was also author of a modified formula for resource sharing between the Centre and the States in 1991 which came to be known as the Gadgil - Mukherjee formula.
A powerful orator and scholar, Shri Mukherjee’s intellectual and political prowess as well as remarkable knowledge of international relations, financial affairs and parliamentary process are widely admired. He has been acclaimed for his role as a consensus builder on difficult national issues through his ability to forge unity amongst the diverse political parties that form part of India’s vibrant multi-party democracy.
A man of humble origins, Shri Mukherjee was born in the small village of Mirati in Birbhum District of West Bengal as son of freedom fighters, Shri Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee and Rajlakshmi on December 11, 1935. Shri Mukherjee’s father was a Congress leader who endured great hardship including being sent to jail several times for his role in India’s struggle for independence.
Shri Mukherjee acquired a Master’s degree in History and Political Science as well as a degree in Law from the University of Kolkata. He then embarked on his professional life as a college teacher and journalist. Inspired by his father’s contribution to the national movement, Shri Mukherjee in 1969 plunged into full time public life following his election to the Upper House of the Parliament (Rajya Sabha).
Under the careful mentoring of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Shri Mukherjee’s rise in his political career was rapid. He was made Deputy Minister, Industry; Shipping and Transport, Steel and Industry and Minister of State for Finance in the period 1973-74. He assumed office as Finance Minister of India for the first time in 1982 in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and was Leader of the House in the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from 1980 to 1985. Later , he was Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 1991 to 1996, Minister for Commerce from 1993 to 1995, Minister of External Affairs from 1995 to 1996, Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2006 and once again the Minister of External Affairs from 2006 to 2009. He was the Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2012 and Leader of the Lower House of Parliament from 2004 to 2012 till he resigned to contest election to the office of the President.
Shri Mukherjee has extensive diplomatic experience and has served on the Board of Governors of the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank. He has led the Indian delegations to the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Conferences in 1982, 1983 and 1984; the United Nations General Assembly in 1994, 1995, 2005 and 2006, the Conference of Commonwealth Heads of Government at Auckland in 1995, the Non-Aligned Foreign Minister’s Conference at Cartagena in 1995 and the Conference to mark the 40th anniversary of the Afro –Asian Conference in Bandung in 1995.
A prolific reader, Shri Mukherjee has authored several books on the Indian Economy and on Nation Building. The many awards and honours conferred on him include India’s second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhusan in 2008, the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1997 and Best Administrator in India Award in 2011. He was rated one of the best five Finance Ministers of the world in 1984 according to a survey conducted by “Euro Money” Journal published from New York and was declared ‘Finance Minister of the year’ for Asia in 2010 by “Emerging Markets”, the journal of record for the World Bank and the IMF.
Shri Mukherjee is married to Smt. Suvra Mukherjee, an accomplished singer of Rabindra Sangeet and they are blessed with two sons and a daughter.
Shri Mukherjee enjoys reading, gardening and music in his spare time. Simple in his tastes, Shri Mukherjee is a dedicated patron of the arts and culture.
An avid traveller, there are few parts of India and few countries in the world he has not visited in his illustrious and long public career.
Detailed Profile
| Administrative Career: | |
| Deputy Minister, Industrial Development | February 1973 to January 1974. |
| Deputy Minister, Shipping and Transport | January 1974 to October 1974 |
| Deputy Minister, Steel and Industry | . . . |
| Minister of State for Finance | October 1974 to December 1975 |
| Minister of State for Revenue and Banking (Independent Charge) | December 1975 to March 1977 |
| Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Steel and Mines | January 1980 to January 1982 |
| Cabinet Minister of Finance | January 1982 to December 1984 |
| Additional charge of the Ministry of Commerce and Supply | September to December 31, 1984 |
| Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission | June 1991 to May 1996 |
| Cabinet Minister of Commerce | January 1993 to February 1995 |
| Cabinet Minister of External Affairs | February 1995 to May 1996 |
| Cabinet Minister of Defence | May 2004 to 24 October 2006 |
| Cabinet Minister of External Affairs | October 2006 to May 2009 |
| Cabinet Minister of Finance | 24 January 2009 to 26 June 2012 |
| Parliamentary Career: | |
| Elected to Rajya Sabha | 1969, 1975, 1981, 1993, 1999 |
| Elected to Lok Sabha | 2004, 2009, upto July 2012 |
| Deputy Leader of the Congress Party in the Rajya Sabha | 1978-80 |
| Chief Whip of Congress Party in the Rajya Sabha | 1996-2004 |
| Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha | 1980-85 |
| Member, Business Advisory Committee, Committee on Privileges and Committee on Rules | |
| Member, Consultative Committee on External Affairs | 1996-99 |
| Chairman, Parliament Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests | 1997 |
| Chairman, Parliament Standing Committee on Home Affairs | June 1998 to May 2004 |
| Leader of the Lok Sabha | June 2004 to June 2012 |
| Career in the Congress Party: | |
| Member, Congress Working Committee | January 27, 1978 to January 18, 1986, August 10, 1997 till June 25, 2012 |
| President, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee | 1985, August 2000 to June, 2010 |
| Member, Central Parliamentary Board, All India Congress Committee (AICC) | 1978 to 1986 |
| Treasurer of the AICC | 1978 to 1979 |
| Treasurer of the Congress (I) Party in Parliament | 1978 to 1979 |
| Chairman, Economic Advisory Cell, AICC | 1987 to 1989 |
| Chairman, Campaign Committee of the AICC for conducting National Elections to Parliament | 1984, 1991, 1996. 1998, 1999 |
| Chairman, Central Election Coordination Committee of the AICC | June 28, 1999 onwards |
| Member, Central Election Committee, AICC | December 12, 2001 to 25 June, 2012 |
| Resigned from the Congress Party prior to contesting to the office of President of India | 25 June, 2012 |
| Membership in International Organizations: | |
| Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) | 1982 to 1985, 2009 - 2012 |
| Board of Governors, World Bank | 1982 to 1985, 2009 to 2012 |
| Board of Governors, Asian Development Bank (ADB) | 1982 to 1985, 2009 to 2012 |
| Board of Governors, African Development Bank | 1982 to 1985, 2009 to 2012 |
| Chairman, Group of 24 nations in IMF and World Bank | 1984, 2011-12 |
| Chairman, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Council of Ministers Conference | May 1995, November 1995, April 2007 |
| Leadership of Indian delegations abroad: | |
| Colombo Plan Finance Ministers’ Conference, Singapore and Colombo | 1975, 1976 |
| The Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Conferences | 1982, 1983, 1984 |
| The Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF | 1982, 1983, 1984, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Annual Meetings of the ADB | 1982, 1983, 1984, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Ministerial Conference of WTO at Marrakesh | 1994 |
| The United Nations General Assembly | 1994, 1995, 2005, 2006 |
| The Social Summit at Copenhagen | 1995 |
| The 40th Anniversary of the Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung | 1995 |
| The Conference of Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM), Auckland | 1995 |
| The Non-Aligned Foreign Minister’s Conference, Cartagena | 1995 |
| Social and Cultural Activities: | |
| President of the Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan | 1995 to 2001, 2004 to June 2012 |
| Chairman, Planning Board, Asiatic Society, Kolkata | 1984 to 1986, 1992 to 1996, 2004-2012 |
| Trustee, Bangiya Sahitya Parishad | 1984 to 1990 |
| Trustee Bidhan Memorial Trust, Kolkata | 1998 to June 2012 |
| Books Published: | |
| Beyond Survival: Emerging Dimensions of Indian Economy | 1984 |
| Off the Track | 1987 |
| Saga of Struggle and Sacrifice | 1992 |
| Challenges Before the Nation (on Indian National Congress) Courtesy : http://patelthegreat.blogspot.in/ | 1992 |
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