Currently, the post of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister is held by Omar Abdullah. He is the son of Farooq Abdullah and also the grandson of Sheikh Abdullah. Both Farooq Abdullah and Sheikh Abdullah served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Omar Abdullah is also the youngest person to become the chief minister of the state. He is a descendant of the Abdullah family, which is regarded as the first family of the state. He became the chief minister of the state after his party National Conference came to power in alliance with the Indian National Congress in 2009.

Early life and academics of Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah was born on March 10, 1970. He is the son of Farooq Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Mollie who is British. During his childhood, Omar was a student of the Burn Hall School. Subsequently, he also studied at the Lawrence School in Sanawar. Omar Abdullah completed his graduation from the esteemed Sydenham College in Mumbai. He attained his B.Com degree from this college. He also enrolled into the University of Strathclyde in Scotland for studying Master of Business Administration. However, Omar did not finish this study.

Personal Life of Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah's wife is Payal Nath, whose father is a retired Major General from Delhi. The couple has two sons and their names are Zamir and Zahir respectively. Sachin Pilot, Indian National Congress MP from Ajmer, Rajasthan and son of Rajesh Pilot, an eminent Congress leader married his sister Sarah Abdullah.

Political Career of Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah made his entry into politics in 1998 once he was elected as a Member of Parliament. This was a notable achievement he kept recurring in three successive parliamentary polls (1998, 1999, and 2004). He represented the Srinagar parliamentary constituency. Since July 2001 till December 2002, he served as the Minister of State for External Affairs during the National Democratic Alliance regime led by Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Bajpayee. Nevertheless, he tendered his resignation from the ministerial berth to focus on expanding his party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference.

At the time of the 2002 Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he failed to win the Ganderbal Assembly Constituency. The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference also did not perform well. In the 2008 assembly elections, he was victorious from the Ganderbal Constituency.

Omar Abdullah was the youngest member of the 12th Lok Sabha to be chosen as a minister. In addition, he also served as the member of the Ministry of Tourism's Consultative Committee and the Committee on Transport and Tourism. Omar Abdullah was again elected to the 13th Lok Sabha and this was his second term. He was only 30 when he became the Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry in 1999.

He was nominated as the President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in 2002 and he succeeded his father.

In 2006, Omar Abdullah had a man to man meeting with Pervez Musharaf, the then President of Pakistan. This meeting was a unique meeting between a political leader and the Pakistan administration. The idea was to figure out an answer to the Jammu and Kashmir crisis. Omar Abdullah took oath as the 11th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 2009 after the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference won a considerable number of seats in the 2008 assembly polls.

Last Updated on 8/9/2011