P. Chidambaram

The poster-boy of India's economic reforms, P. Chidambaram has been credited with leading India's quest to be an economic superpower. The present Union Finance Minister, he has held the post since the formation of the present UPA government in May 2004. He held the same portfolio in the United Front government from 1996 to 1998. He has held cabinet posts in the Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao-led Congress governments.

He was born on 16 September 1945, in Kanadukathan village in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district. After graduating from Presidency College, Chennai, he went on to study law at the University of Madras, before moving to the Harvard Business School from where he did a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). He started off as an advocate in 1969 and soon became very successful. He jumped into politics and was first elected to the Lok Sabha from the Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu in 1984. He has been winning elections from the same constituency in five consecutive general elections. He first became a minister in the Rajiv Gandhi-led government on 21st September 1985 as a Deputy Minister. He was elevated to the rank of Minister of State in 1986.

In June 1991, Chidambaram became a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce. In 1996, he quit the Congress and joined the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC). After the elections of 1996, TMC joined the coalition government and P. Chidambaram became the Union Finance Minister. He rejoined the Congress party before the elections of 2004. He has been the most visible face of India's economic reforms alongwith Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Get to know more about Indian Politicians and Government Officials:
Inder Kumar Gujral Indira Gandhi Biju Patnaik Jyoti Basu Dr. Rajendra Prasad A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Pramod Mahajan P. Chidambaram Lalu Prasad Yadav Sarojini Naidu T.N. Seshan J.M. Lyngdoh