A. K. Antony From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page semi-protected It has been suggested that A. K. Antony ministry term 2 be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since May 2013. A. K. Antony MP എ.കെ. ആന്റണി.jpg Minister of Defence Incumbent Assumed office 26 October 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Preceded by Pranab Mukherjee Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution In office 1993–1995 Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao Chief Minister of Kerala In office 17 May 2001 – 29 August 2004 Governor Sikander Bakht T. N. Chaturvedi R. L. Bhatia Preceded by E. K. Nayanar Succeeded by Oommen Chandy In office 22 March 1995 – 9 May 1996 Governor B. Rachaiah P. Shiv Shankar Khurshed Alam Khan Preceded by K. Karunakaran Succeeded by E. K. Nayanar In office 27 April 1977 – 27 October 1978 Governor N. N. Wanchoo Jyothi Vencatachellum Preceded by K. Karunakaran Succeeded by P. K. Vasudevan Nair Personal details Born Arackaparambil Kurien Antony അറയ്ക്കപറമ്പില് കുര്യന് ആന്റണി 28 December 1940 (age 72) Cherthala, Travancore, British India (now India) Political party Indian National Congress (Before 1978; 1982–present)Flag of the Indian National Congress.svg Other political affiliations Indian National Congress-Urs (1978–1980) Indian National Congress-A (1980–1982) Spouse(s) Elizabeth Antony Alma mater Maharajas College (B.A.) University of Kerala (LL.B.)[1] Profession Politician Lawyer Religion Atheism;[2] devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi[3][4] Arackaparambil Kurien Antony (born 28 December 1940) is an Indian politician who is the current Defence Minister of India,[5] and also the Member of Parliament (MP) from the upper house, Rajya Sabha, of Parliament. He previously served as the Chief Minister of the state of Kerala. Antony presently serves as the Chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute,[6] President of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses,[7] Chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee of the All India Congress Committee[8] and member of the Central Election Committee and the Congress Working Committee.[9] He is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Accommodation, Economic Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, and Security.[10] Contents [hide] 1 Early life and education 2 Political career 2.1 Early politics 2.2 Congress Politics and Party Faction 3 Chief Minister of Kerala 4 Government offices 4.1 Union Minister for Civil Supplies 4.2 Union Minister for Defence 4.3 Political party role 5 Public image 6 Personal life and beliefs 7 Honours, awards and international recognition 8 Gallery 9 References 10 External links Early life and education A. K. Antony was born at Cherthala, near Alleppey in Travancore, as the son of Arackaparambil Kurien Pillai and Aleykutty Kurian.[11] He lost his father in 1959 and self-financed part of his education through odd jobs.[12] He completed his primary education in Holy Family Boys High school (Lower primary) and Government Boys High school (Upper primary), Cherthala (both are mixed higher secondary schools now and the latter has changed its name to Sree Narayana Memorial Government Higher Secondary school) and completed his Bachelor of Arts from Maharajas College and Bachelor of Law from University of Kerala.[1] Political career Early politics A. K. Antony entered into politics as a student leader in Cherthala Taluk (Alleppey District) as an activist of Kerala Students Union (KSU) under the guidance of M. A. John.[13] He has been an active leader of many strikes like Oru Ana Samaram (Single Penny Strike). He became the youngest president[14] of Kerala Students Union in 1966[14] and also served in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) before becoming an All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in 1984. When he became KPCC president in 1972 he was the youngest person to hold that post. He was elected again as KPCC president in 1987, and was defeated by Vayalar Ravi in the KPCC presidential elections in 1991. Congress Politics and Party Faction Congress (A) was a political party founded by Antony when he split from the Indian National Congress (Urs) a splinter group of the Indian National Congress (and opposed Indira Gandhi in inner party politics during the time when she was prosecuted by the Morarji Desai government, splitting off from the parent party with Devraj Urs.) The party was primarily active in Kerala and joined the LDF ministry headed by E. K. Nayanar during 1980-1982. After the fall of the Nayanar ministry, this party merged with the Congress in 1982, but Antony was not given any office until the death of Indira Gandhi. The members of the party have continued as a faction in the local congress afterwards. Chief Minister of Kerala On accusations in the Rajan case, K. Karunakaran resigned and Antony was made the 8th Chief Minister of Kerala.[15] Antony thus became the youngest Chief Minister of the state[14][16] at the age of 37 serving from years 27 April 1977 to 27 October 1978. Again, when K. Karunakaran resigned in connection with the ISRO case Antony was made the 16th Chief Minister of Kerala serving from years 22 March 1995 to 9 May 1996. He was the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly during 1996 to 2001. Antony was elected and served the third term from 17 May 2001 to 29 August 2004. He failed to retain power on the first two occasions as Chief minister. In 2004, immediately after the Congress in Kerala suffered a total rout in the Lok Sabha elections amid factional politics and in-fighting within the Congress Party, Antony resigned as the Chief Minister of Kerala.[14][16] He was succeeded by Oommen Chandy. It was at his behest that the decision to construct the new Legislature Complex was taken in 1977. During his tenure, he introduced the Unemployment Allowance, Festival Allowance for the State Employees, Prohibition of arrack and the steps initiated to revive the economy of Kerala. He also took some initiatives in the field of Higher Education, Science & Technology, Bio-Technology, Information Technology and other related areas.[17] Government offices Union Minister for Civil Supplies He was a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha between 1985 and 1995 and was the Minister for Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution for a year in 1994 during the tenure of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao. He resigned on moral grounds as food minister in 1994 when his ministry was involved in a sugar import scandal, despite there being no allegations against him.[14][18] Union Minister for Defence Wikinews has related news: Antony becomes Central Cabinet Defence Minister in a minor expansion-cum-reshuffle in 2006 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In 2005, A. K. Antony entered the Rajya Sabha and was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers as Defence Minister following Natwar Singhs expulsion from the Congress and Pranab Mukherjees transfer to the Ministry of External Affairs. After the Congress again won the elections in 2009 and formed the government once again under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Antony retained the portfolio of Defence for the second term becoming the longest serving Defence Minister of India in a continuous stint for 7 years.[19][20] Political party role Antonys political skills and long experience in government have also led him to heading a large number of committees of Ministers in the government, a device that has been employed to obtain consensus within the members of the governing coalition on contentious issues.[21][22] GoM EGoM Location of National War Memorial Spectrum Allocation
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 17:53:10 +0000
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