Ghulam Nabi Azad Biography

Ghulam Nabi Azad is a politician and a senior leader of Indian National Congress. He was born on 7th March 1949 in a village Soti in Doda district of Kashmir. In 1972, he passed his M.Sc degree in Zoology from Kashmir University. He is married to Shrimati Shameem Dev Azad and has a son and a daughter.

In 1973, Ghulam Nabi Azad actively participated in politics and from 1973 to 1975 he was the Block Secretary of Congress Committee of Blessa. In the year 1975, he was appointed as the President of Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Youth Congress. Whereas in 1977, he was nominated as President of Congress Committee of Doda district and later elected as the General Secretary of All India Youth Congress.

Apart from this, he was the President of All India Muslim Youth Conference from 1978 to 1981 and in 1986 he was the Member of Congress Working Committee and appointed as the General Secretary of All India Congress Committee in 1987. He was nominated as the General Secretary for nine times.

In 1982 , Ghulam Nabi Azad took the charge of Union Deputy Minister for Company Affairs and Law and was later shifted to the Minister of State in this Ministry. In 1985, he re-elected from Washim Constituency and held the post of Minister of State for Home Affairs and his portfolio was later changed to Food and Civil Supplies.

He became the member of Rajya Sabha in 1990 and in the next year he was included in the P.V.Narismha Rao Ministry as the Cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and later he was given the portfolio of Tourism and Civil Aviation. Under his guidance as the President of JKPCC in 2002, Congress won 21 seats in the Assembly elections and emerged as the second largest party in the Assembly. In the current UPA Government under the prime minister ship of Dr. Manmohan Singh he was the Union Minister for Urban Development and Law & Parliamentary Affairs. But he resigned to be the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir State. He is the third Chief Minister from Congress after Mr. G.M. Sadiq and Syed Mir Qasim.

Ghulam Nabi Azad has been associated with various political and social organizations, some of which are Youth Services Committee, IX Asian Games, 1982; Board of Directors in the Associated Journals Limited, publishers of National Herald, 1988-90; Indian Goodwill Haj Delegation to Saudi Arabia, 1987; Central Haj Committee, 1980-82; Peace Committee, G.G.M. Science College, Jammu, 1967-69; Special Organizing Committee, IX Asian Games, 1982; Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defense, 1981-82 and 1988-89; Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Member; Congress Executive Committee, Maharashtra since 1980.