Profile of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar

Congress leader and former Union Minister Meira Kumar today became the first woman to be elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower House of Parliament, in the world's largest and most vibrant democracy.

Ms Kumar, 64, is the daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram and the second Dalit leader to occupy the coveted post after the late G M C Balayogi. Her mother, the late Indrani Devi, was a freedom fighter, social worker and author of many books

Ms Kumar had been sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on May 22 and had taken over the portfolio of Water Resources on May 29 but on the following day, she became the Congress party's surprise choice for the Speaker's position. She resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on May 31.

She had served as the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment in the previous UPA government from 2004-09.

She has a Master's degree in English and a degree in Law, as well as an advanced diploma in Spanish.She studied at Indraprastha College and Miranda House in the University of Delhi. She is proficient in English, Spanish, Hindi, Sanskrit and Bhojpuri languages.

Ms Kumar is a former officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). She joined the service in 1973 and served in Indian missions in Madrid and London as well as in the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi before resigning in 1985 to join politics at the suggestion of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

This is her fifth term in the Lok Sabha. She has been elected to the current Lok Sabha from her father's constituency of Sasaram in Bihar. She has in the past also been elected from Uttar Pradesh and Delh.

She has served on various parliamentary committees and has been a General Secretary of the Congress party and a member of its working committee.

Ms Kumar was born on March 31, 1945 in Patna, the capital of Bihar. She was married in November, 1968, to Mr Manjul Kumar, a lawyer. The couple has three children---a son, Anshul, and two daughters, Swati and Devangna---who are all married.

She was first elected to the eighth Lok Sabha in 1985 in a bye-election from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. In 1996, she was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from Karol Bagh in Delhi, one of only two Congress candidates to win from the capital that year. In 1998, she was again elected from Karol Bagh, this time the only Congress nominee to win in Delhi. In 2004, she was elected from Sasaram in Bihar, which was held by her father for decades. She won that year with the highest margin in Bihar. She has retained Sasaram in this year's election. She is also one of the few persons to have been elected to Parliament from three different states.

She lists painting and poetry among her main interests. Some of her poems have, in fact, been published. She edited a monthly magazine, Pavan Prasad, from 1980 to 1992. She has a keen interest in old monuments, Indian textiles and crafts. She was also a keen sportswoman and has won prizes in rifle shooting and participated in equestrian events.

Ms Kumar has been a member of several Indian delegations abroad and also been associated with various bodies and organisations, including the All India Samta Movement, which she founded, the Jagjivan Seva Ashram in Sasaram, the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, the National Commission on Population and the National Integration Council.

NNN