At present, the Governor of the Indian state of Uttarakhand is Mrs. Margaret Alva born on April 14, 1942. She is the first lady governor of the state and took over office in July 2009. She is one of the eminent leaders of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. Alva served as the General Secretary of the AICC (All India Congress Committee).

Early life and personal life of Margaret Alva

Margaret Alva hails from Mangalore, Karnataka. Her father was P.A. Nazareth and mother Elizabeth Nazareth. She shifted to Bangalore, the capital of the state for higher education. She attained the bachelor's degree (B.A.) from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore and B.L. (Bachelor of Law) from University Law College, Bangalore, which was previously named as Government Law College. She also has received an Honorary Doctorate from University of Mysore.

Margaret Alva began her professional life as a lawyer. Her husband is Niranjan Alva whom she married on May 24, 1964. The couple has three sons and one daughter - Nividet, Nikhil, Niret, and Manira Alva. Nikhil Alva is the co-founder of Miditech, a TV software firm worth Rs. 50 crores, which was established in 1992. The parents of Niranjan Alva are Joachim Alva and Violet Alva, who played an important role in the Indian battle for independence. They also became members of Parliament (Lok Sabha). Margaret Alva belongs to the Catholic community of Mangalore.

Margaret Alva's political life with Indian National Congress

Margaret Alva served as the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee. She was also a confidante of Sonia Gandhi, who is the President of the Indian National Congress, the oldest political organization in the country. However, Mrs. Alva was withdrawn from her berth in the party once she made accusations on the operations of the INC concerning the "Cash for Votes" event. Margaret Alva was the youngest lady to become a member of the Rajya Sabha at only the age of 31 years.

From 1974 to 2004, she was a Member of Parliament and she won the General Elections as a candidate of the Indian National Congress. During her five successful terms as an MP (Member of Parliament), Alva was also handed the responsibility of Consultant to the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training. The Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training is an organization which was established to better the quality of lawmaking activities in the State Assemblies and the Parliament of India.

Achievements of Margaret Alva

In addition, Mrs. Margaret Alva helped outline the draft for strategies promoting the liberation of women, which was espoused by various state governments and the Union Government of India. Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa, showered accolades on her for taking a key role in accumulating support for the South African masses during their battle for independence and in opposition to discrimination in 2003. Alva served as Minister for Science and Technology for a short term as well.

Ms. Alva handled the Human Resource Development Ministry when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. The Ministry has the objective of controlling and encouraging the manpower prospects of the huge population of India. By occupation, Margaret Alva is an advocate and she received an honorary D.Litt from the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India.

Positions held by Margaret Alva

Tenure	Positions held
1972-73	She served as Convener of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Women's Front
1974-80	She was a member of the Rajya Sabha and also a member of the Ministry of External Affairs Consultative Committee
1975-76	She was convener of the Congress Parliamentary Party and Member of the Committee on Information and Broadcasting
1975-76	She served as Executive Member of the Congress Parliamentary Party
1975-77	She served as Joint Secretary, All India Congress Committee
1978-80	She was nominated as General Secretary, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) of Karnataka
1980-86	She was member of Rajya Sabha for the 2nd term and also the Ministry of External Affairs Consultative Committee
1983-85	She worked as a member of the Panel of Vice-Chairmen, Rajya Sabha
1983-88	She was appointed as National Convener of Mahila Congress
1984-85	She served as Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs and was also a Member of the Committee on Public Undertakings
1985-89	She served as Minister of State, Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development in the Human Resource Development Ministry
1986-92	She was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha and this was her 3rd term
1990-91	She served as Chairman of the Committee on Papers Laid on the Table, Rajya Sabha
1991	She was given the portfolio of the Ministry of State, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
1992-98	She was again nominated to the Rajya Sabha and this was her fourth term
1993-95	She was Deputy Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha for the Congress Party
1993-96	She served as Minister of State, Personnel, Public Grievances/Pensions with supplementary responsibility of Parliamentary Affairs
1996-97	She was nominated as a Member of the Committee on External Affairs
1996-98	She was designated as a Member of the Committee on Public Accounts and also the Committee on Ministry of Information/Broadcasting
-1999	She won the General Elections and became an MP in the 13th Lok Sabha. Her name was included in the Panel of Chairmen.
1999-00	She was member of the House Committee, Committee on Transport and Tourism, and General Purposes Committee
2000-01	She was nominated as Chairman of the Committee on the Empowerment of Women
-2000	She was a Member of the Ministry of Tourism Consultative Committee
2000-2004	She was nominated as a Member of the Ministry of Tourism Consultative Committee
2004-2009	Worked as an organizer in Congress President office for 2 years. Functioned as a consultant to Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training, Lok Sabha Secretariat and was General Secretary of Indian National Congress.

Before becoming the convener of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Women's Front, she was a member of the AICC.

Awards and laurels received by Margaret Alva

In 1989, she received the Honorary D.Litt Degree from the University of Mysore
In 1961, she was given the Best All Round Student award from Mount Carmel College
In 1991, Alva received the Mahila Siromani Award and in the same year, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award
From 1975 to 1982, she was President of the Delhi Foundation of Deaf Women.
She was nominated as the President of Delhi Y.W.C.A. from 1975-78. Her name was included in the names of the World Women Parliamentarians for Peace during 1986 to 1988.
She also spearheaded the mission that appealed for disarming at the famous Reagan-Gorbachev meeting in Washington.
In 1991, she received Outstanding Konkani Award from Dr. T.M.A. Pai Foundation
In 1961, she was elected as the General Secretary of All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF). During 1963-64, she was nominated as Joint Secretary of Government Law College Students Union as well.
She was chairwoman of the following committees:
- 1985-86 SAARC Technical Committee on Women
- Foreign Students' Welfare Committee of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, 1982-84
- UN Expert Group meeting on Women in Decision making, Vienna, 1987

Committees represented by Margaret Alva

Margaret Alva was a member of the following organizations and committees:

Indian Delegation to U.N. Conference for International Women's Year at Mexico, 1975
Indian Delegation to the United Nations
Indian Committee for International Women's Year, 1975
Central Youth Advisory Board, 1976-77
General Assembly, 1976 and 1998
National Adult Education Board, 1978-79
National Committee on Child Labor, 1979
National Children's Board, 1977-78
Bar Council of India Panel of Eminent Persons for Asia and the Pacific for HRD (ESCAP)
Governing Council of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, 1982-84
Commonwealth Observer Group for Elections in Cameroon
IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, 2000.
Spokesperson, Congress Parliamentary Party.
In 1992, she was nominated as the President of the ESCAP summit on Violence against Women which took place in Seoul, South Korea. ESCAP hosted the Eminent Persons Convention in Bangkok in 1994 and she was a guest in the summit.
She was a member of the Governing Council of SID (Society for International Development), Rome

Personal interests and hobbies of Margaret Alva

Mrs. Alva has a broad range of interests. She is famous for her ingenuity. She accomplished a course in oil painting, Ikebana, and interior decoration. Most of her spare time is spent by listening to music, drawing pictures, and visiting places throughout the world. She has memberships of three associations: Delhi Gymkhana Club, India International Center, and Bangalore Club.

Spanning a 30-year career as a parliamentarian, Margaret Alva utilized her lawmaking successes for women's rights to lead the "silent uprising" in India, which was an endeavor to involve millions of women in India in the political system. Her pioneering support and community service set the path for new age groups of lady politicians at every tier of administration. At present, she is continuing five-year tenure as Governor of Uttarakhand.

Contact address of Governor of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Rajbhawan
Dehradun -248003
Tel: (0135) 2757403, 2757400

Last Updated on 30 September 2011