Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership
Republic of India/ Bharat (Female suffrage 1947) Since 1784 the
British gradually took control of the subcontinent, it became independent 1948
and a republic 1950
Also see India Heads of State and India Parliament
1947-57
Minister of Health Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
1951 Minister of Communication
1952 Minister of Communication (from circa 1955 Forth in cabinet)
President of the World Health Assembly in 1950,
Member of Rayja Sabha, the Upper House
1957-64. She
was a
Princess of Kapurthala and lived (1889-1964).
1952-53 Minister of State for
Health Maragatham Chandrasekar
1962-64 Minister of State For Home Affairs
1967-67 Minister of State of Health
1985-89 Minister of State of Social Affairs and Women
Secretary General of Congress I
In
1972-77 and 1985
and Acting President of
the Party in Tamil Nadu in 1985.
She lived (1917-2001).
1952-57 Parliamentary
Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister for External Affairs
Lakshmi N. Menon
1957-62 Deputy Minister of External Affairs (Premier Nehru was Minister)
1962-66 Minister of State of External Affairs
Freedom fighter during the British Empire, Chief of the UN Section for the Status of Women and Children
In
1949-52,
Delegate to the UN
1952-66
and
from 1966 lecturer at an University. She lived (1899-1995).
1952-58 Deputy Minister of Economic
Affairs Tarakeshwari Prasad Sinha
1958-66 Deputy Minister of Finance
Secretary General of Congress I in 1979 and lived (1926-2007)
1953 Minister of State for Health
Lady
Dhahvanthi Handoo Rama Rau
She lived
(1893-1967).
1957-62 Minister of State for Home
Affairs Violet Alva
Member of Bombay Legislative Council 1947-52, In 1953-54 and 1962-69
Vice-Chairperson and 1969 Member of the Panel of Chairmen of Rayjiah Shaba and
Acting Chairperson of Rayjiah Shaba the same year. The
Vice-President of the Republic is Chair of the Upper House, when he/she acts as
President the Deputy Chairperson becomes acting Chairperson of the House. In
1969 she resigned because Indira Gandhi backed someone else as Vice-President of
the Nation and she died one week later. A
protestant she was married to the catholic Joachim Alva, also MP, mother
of 3 children and lived (1908-69).
1961-66 Parliamentary Secretary of
Finance and General Administration
Manorama Pandey
1972 Deputy Minister of Information and the Home
1972-74 Minister of State
1962-67 Minister of Health Dr.
Sushila Nayar
Personal Doctor of Mahatma Gandhi. 1953-55 she was Minister of Health and
Transport, 1955-56 Speaker of the Assembly of Delhi. She lived (1914-2001).
1962 Deputy Minister of Education
Sudaram Ramachandran
1964-66 Minister of Information Indira Priyadashini Gandhi
1966-77 Prime Minister (24.1-24.3.)
1967-69 Minister of External Affairs
1967-77 Minister of Atomic Energy and Planning
1969-70 Minister of Finance
1971-74 Minister of Information and Broadcasting
1972-77 Minister of Space
1970-73 Minister of Home Affairs
1975-77 Minister of Defence
1980-84 (†) Prime Minister (14.1-31.10)
1980-83 Minister of Defence
1980-84 Chairperson of the Planning Commission
1984 Minister of External Affairs
Leader of the Congress Party 1959-60 and 1966-77, Member of Rajya
Sabha 1964-67 and of Lok Sabha 1967-77. 1978 and 1980-84. In 1975 she declared a
stated of emergency and ruled as a dictator. She lost the 1977-elections and was
placed in prison. After her release she became leader 1978-84 of Congress (I),
Killed by Sikh Life-guard. She was daughter of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
(1947-64(†)), married to Feroze Gandhi in 1942 and her younger son
Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister (1984-89(†)). She lived (1917-84).
1965-66 Parliamentary Secretary to
the Prime Minister Dr. Sarojini Mahishi
1967-69 Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister
1969-71 Deputy Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
1971-74 Minister of State of Tourism and Civil Aviation
1974-76 Minister of State for Law, Justice and Company Affairs
Vice-Chairperson of Rayja Sabha
1984-85 and 1986-88. (b. 1927-).
1966-69 Minister of State of
Information
Nandini
Satpathy
1969-70 Minister of State to Prime Minister
1970-71 Minister of State without Portfolio
1971-72 Minister of State of Information
Chief Minister of Orissa
1972-73 and 1974-76 and she was active in state politics until her death. She
lived (1931-2006).
1967-69 Minister of State for
Social Welfare Phulrenu Guha
1969-70 Minister of State for Law and Social Welfare
Former freedom fighter and MP. She lived
(1911-2006).
1966-67 Deputy Minister of
Transport Jahanara Jaipal Singh
1967-69 Deputy Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
1969-70 Deputy Minister of Education
1970-72 Deputy Minister of Youth Service
1971-77 Minister of State of
Finance Sushila Rohatgi
1985-86 Minister of State with independent charge of Culture and Education
1986-88 Minister of State of Power, Energy, Petroleum and Natural Gas
1988-89 Minister of State of Home Affairs
Later
Home Minister in Uttar Pradesh.
(b. 1921-)
1972-74 Minister of State of Health
Saroj Khapade
1976-82 Minister of State of Family Welfare
1984-88 Minister of State of Social Welfare
1988-89 Minister of State of Health
1989 Minister of State of Textiles
Member of the Panel of Vice-Chairperson of Rajya Sabha 1994-2004.
1977-79 Minister of Industry Abna Mati
1977-79 Minister of Culture,
Education and Social Welfare Renuka Devi Barkataki (Third in the Cabinet).
Later a leading member of the Red Cross.
1978-82 Joint Secretary of the
Ministry of External Affairs Manorama Bhalla
Ambassador to Peru
1976-78, Denmark
1982-87, Kenya
1987-89 and to Spain
1990-95.
1979 Minister of Social Welfare Dr.
Sathiavamo Muthu
Minister in the Cabinet of Tamil Nadu 1967-75.
1979-80 Minister of State of Social
Welfare Rashida Haque
Chowdhury
Her surname is also spelled Chaudhury.
1980-83 Minister of State of
Agriculture S.K. Kamla Kumari
1991-93 Minister of State of Social Welfare
A member of the minor royal family of Jubbal, her full name is
1980-82 Deputy Minister of
Information and Broardcasting
Kumudben Joshi
1982-84 Deputy Minister of Health and Family Welfare
Governor of Andra Pradesh 1984-89. (b. 1934-).
1980-82 Minister of State of
Commerce Ram Dulari Sinha
1982-85 Minister of State of Industry, Steel and Mines
1985-86 Minister of State of Home Affairs
1986-88 Minister of State of Mines
Formerly Minister in Bihar and
Governor of Kerala
1988-90,
she lived (1922-94)
1982-89 Minister of State of
Culture, Education and Social Welfare
Sheila Kaul
1991-95 Minister of Urban Development
1995 Minister of Urban Affairs and Employment
Governor of Himachal Pradesh 1995-96. Accused of corruption on
various occations and appeared before court in 2005. She lived (1915-2015).
1982-83 Minister of State for
Labour and Rehabilitation Mohsina Kidwai
1983-84 Minister of State for Health and Family
1984-86 Minister of Health and Family
1986-89 Minister of Transport,
Urban Development and Tourism (Second in the Cabinet)
Initially Minister for Harijan and Social Welfare and then for Small Industries
1974-77 in Uttar Pradesh. In 1976 President of the Uttar
Pradesh Congress Committee,
and later Secretary General of the All India Congress Committee.
Married her cousin. (b. 1932-).
1984-86 Minister of State with
independent charge of Social Welfare
Dr. Rajendra
Kumari Bajpai
1986-87 Minister of State with independent charge of Labour
1987-89 Minister of State with independent charge of Welfare
Minister in the Cabinet of Uttar Pradesh
1970-77 and 1995-98 Lieutenant Governor
of Pondicherry. She lived (1925-99)
1984-85 Minister of State of
Parliamentary Affairs Margaret Alva
19856-89 Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child
Development
1991 and 1993-96 Minister of State with independent charge of Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions
1993-96 Minister of State of Parliamentary Affairs
MP 1974-2004. Member of the Panel of Vice-Chairmen of Lok Sabha 1983-85 and
1999-2009, Deputy Chief Whip of the Congress Party 1993-95 and Party Secretary
General and in charge of Party Affairs in several provinces until 2008 and
Governor of Uttarakhand 2009-12 and Rajasthan 2012-14 and was given additional
charge of Gujarat and Goa in 2014.
Daughter-in-law of Violet Alva. (b. 1944-)
1986-89 Minister of State of
Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of State of the Prime Minister’s Office
Sheila Dixit
Also known as Sheila Dikshit she was Chief Minister of Delhi 1998-2013 and the President of the State Congress
(I), and Governor of Kerala in 2014. (b. 1938-)
1986-89 Minister of State of
Education and Culture Krishna Sahi
1988-89 Minister of State of Water Resources
1989 Minister of State of Culture
1991-95 Minister of State of Industrial Relations and Heavy Industry
1995-96 Minister of State of Civil Supplies
1988-89 Minister of State of
Welfare Sumati Oraon
Congress MP through a number of years, she lived
(1935-before 2004)
1989-91 Minister of State of
Environment and Forests Maneka Gandhi
1990 Minister of State of Program Implementation
1998-99 Minister of State with independent charge of Welfare
1999 Minister of State of Social Justice and Empowerment
1999-2001 First Minister of State with independent charge of Social Justice and Empowerment
2001 Minister of State with independent charge of Culture and additional charge
of Animal Care
2001-02 Minister of State with independent charge of Statistics and Programs Implementation with additional charge of Animal Care
2014- Union Minister of Women and Child Development
Leader of Rashtriya Sanjay Vichar Manch
1980-88,
Secretary General of Janata Dal
1988-89
and among the leaders till 1996 when she was excluded from the party.
She is widow of Sanjey Gandhi, older son of Indira Gandhi, who was killed in a
plane-chrash in 1980.
1991-93 Minister of State of Human
Resources Development for Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development
1999-2000 Minister of Railways (Fourth in the Cabinet)
2003-04 Minister without Portfolio
2009-11 Minister of Railways
Kumari Mamata
Banerjee
Elected
MP 1984-89 and in 1991 for the Coungress until she founded the Trimaul Congress Party,
which she has chaired from 1998. In 2000 she resigned in
protest over the rise of petroleum prizes imposed by the government. Chief
Minister of the West Bengal from 2011. (b. 1955-)
1991-93 Minister of State of Human
Resources D.K. Tava Devi
1991-93 Deputy Minister of
Information and Broadcasting Dr. Girja Vyas
1993-94 Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation (Tourism) Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder
1994-96 Minister of State of Civil Aviation and Tourism
1994-95
Minister of State of Human
Resources Development in charge of Women and Children Basava Rajeshwari
1995 Minister of State of Power
Urmilabehn Patel
1995-96 Minister of State of
Culture and Education
Kumari Selja
2004-09 Minister of State with
Independent Charge of
Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation
2009-11 Union Minister of Tourism
2009-12 Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation
2011-12 Union Minister
with additional charge of Culture
2012-13 Union
Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Elected Congress MP in 1991. (b. 1962-).
1995-96 Minister of State of
Women’s And Children’s Development Vilma Verma
1996,
1998 and 2001-03 Union Minister of
Information and Broadcasting Sushma Swaraj
2003-04 Union
Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
2014- Union Minister of External Affairs and Overseas
Indian Affairs
Minister of Social Welfare etc.
1977-78 and Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supply in Haryana
1987-88, Member of the Panel of Vice-Chairmen of
the Rajya Sabha
1991-98, General Secretary and Spokesperson of the Bharatiya
Janata Party, BJP
circa 1995-98. 1998 she resigned from the Union Cabinet to become Chief
Minister of Delhi, but after a few months she lost the election and was succeeded
by Sheila Dixit.
Deputy Leader of BJP in the Rajya Sabha and Spokesperson of the BJP
Parliamentary Wing 2004-09, Deputy Leader of BJP in the Lok Sabha in 2009 and
Leader of the Opposition 2009-14. (b. 1952-)
1996 Minister of State of Human
Resources Development Kanti Singh
1996-97 Minister of State with independent charge of Coal
2006-08 Minister of State of Heavy Industry
2008-09 Minister of State of Tourism and Culture
Secretary General of RJD 1991-96. (b. 1957-).
1997-98 Minister of State of
External Affairs Kamala Sinha
Deputy Parliamentary Leader of Janata Dal
1994-97
and Member of the Panel of
Vice-Chairmen of the Rajya Sabha, (b. 1952-).
2011-13 Minister of State with Independent Charge for
Environment and Forestry
Became of the Rajya Sabha in 1986 and Member of the Panel of Vice-Chairmen of Rajya Sabha
1991-97, Co-Founder of Tamil Maanila Congress in the 1990's but later
rejoined Congress and became Party Spokesperson. (b. 1954-)
1997-98 Minister of State of Health
and Family Welfare Renuka Chowdhury
2006-09 Minister of State
circa 1995-98
Chief Whip of the Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party, Rajya Sabha 1986-98. (b.
1954-)
1997-98 Minister of State of
Planning and Programme Implementation Ratnamala Dhareshwar Savanoor
Elected
MP for
1998-99 Minister of State of
External Affairs Vasundhra Raje
1999 Minister of State of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
1999-2003 Minister of State with independent charge Small Scale Industries, Agro and
Rural Industries, Minister of State of Personnel and Training, Public Grievances
and Pension, Atomic Energy and the Department of Space
2001-02 Minister of State of Pensions and Minister of State of Planning and
Energy
Elected
Member of the Lok Sabha in 1989 and in 1997-98 she was Joint Secretary of the BJP
Parliamentary Party and Chief
Minister of Rajastan 2003-08
and from 2013.
Her full name is Vasundhararaja Rao Scindia and
she is daughter
of the late Rajmata Vikauaraje Scindia of Gwalivor, who was MP for many years
and Vice-President of the BJP. Her sister,
Yashodhara Raje Scindia, was Minister of Tourism in Madhya Pradesh
Government 2003-06 and MP from 2007.
Vashundhra is married to the former Maharaja of
Dholpur (b. 1953-)
1998-99 Minister of State with
independent charge of Human Resources Development Sushree Uma Bharati
1999 Minister of State with independent charge of Youth, Women and
Ckunwarkunwarhild Development and Child Development
1999-2000 Minister of State with independent charge of Tourism
2000-02 Union Minister of Youth and Women’s Affairs
2002-03 Union Minister of Coal and Mines
2014- Union
Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
Chief Minister of Madhyra Pradesh 2003-04. Secretary General of BJP in
2004, before being suspended from the party because of her
opposition to the leadership.
Also known as Sadhui
Uma Shree Bhatari she is a Hindu Nun, and Sushree is her title.
1999-2004 Minister of State of Water
Resources Bijoya Chakravarty
1999-2004 Minister of State of Power Jayawanti Ben Navinchandra Metha
Vice-President of BJP 1993-95. (b. 1938-)
1999-2000 Minister of State of
Mines and Minerals Prof. Rita Verma
2000 Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare
2000-01 Minister of State of Rural Development
2001-03 Minister of State of Human Resources Development
Member of Panel of Chairmen of Lok Sabha
1996-97 and 1998-99 sand
Whip of the BJP Parliamentary Party in 1998
1999-2001 Minister of State of
Human Resource Development Sumitra Mahajan
2002-03 Minister of State of Communication and IT
2003-04 Minister of State of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Deputy Mayor of Indore 1984-85, became
Secretary General of the BJP in 1998, Member of the Panel of Chairmen of Lok
Sabha 2004-14 and Speaker from 2014.
In the 2002 Cabinet only 7 of the 78 members of the government were female. (b.
1943-).
2001-02 Foreign Secretary, Head of
the Ministry of External Affairs Chokila Iyer
Worked in the Foreign Ministry since 1965. 1987-90
Ambassador to the Seychelles, 1994-99 to Mexico and
1999-2001
to Ireland, and since 2002 Vice Chairperson
of the UN Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes
Commission. She belongs to a tribal minority in the
region of Sikkim. (b. 1943-).
2003-04
Minister of State of Parliamentary Affairs and of Tourism and Culture Bhavnaben Devrajbhai Chikalia
Executive Secretary of the B.J.P. Parliamentary Wing 1993-96, 1998 Whip of
the B.J.P. Parliamentary Party and 1999 Party Vice President. Chairperson
of the Railway Convention Committee 1999-2000.
Her
name is also transcribed Bhavna Devraj Chikhalia. (b. 1955-).
2003-04
Minister of State of Human Resources Development Jas Kaur Meena
(b. 1947-).
2004 Prime Minister-Designate
Sonia Gandhi
(15.05-19.05)
2004-06 Chairperson of the
National Advisory Council with Cabinet Rank
As President of Congress (I) since 1998, she was charged with forming
a government in 1998, but failed. After the elecions that followed, she became Parliamentary
Leader
of the whole Parliamentary Party
in the Lok Sabha and Leader of the Opposition.
In 2004 her party won the elections she
named Prime Minister-Designate, charged with forming a new government
but desided not to asume the office.
She is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi, who was killed in 1989.
Born
as Sonia
Maino in
Italy (b.
1945-)
2004-09
Union Minister of
Social Justice and
Empowerment
Meira Kumar
2009 Union Minister for Water Resources
Former diplomat,
elected MP in 1985, General-Secretary, All India
Congress Committee 1990-1992 and 1996-1999. Resigned 3 days after asuming the
post of Minister of Water Resources to become Speaker of the Lok Sabha. She is a
Dalit, a member of India’s lowest caste and married to a Supreme Court Lawyer. (b. 1945-).
2004-09 Minister of State
of
Health
and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi
2009-14 Minister of
State of Textiles
Elected
Congress MP in 1996. (b. 1958-).
2004-09 Minister of State of Rural Development
and Parliamentary Affairs Suryakanta Patil
Member of the Rajya Sabha 1986-91 and Congress MP from 1991. (b. 1948-).
2004-09 Minister of State
of
Social
Justice and Empowerment
Subbulakshmi Jegadeesan
The congress-lead government had a
total of 68 members, 7 of whom were women when it was appointed in 2004. She was
Tamil Nadu Minister for Small
and Cottage Industries 1978-80 and Minister for Social Welfare 1989-91 Deputy
General Secretary of the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK) 1999-2004, when she was
elected to the Lok Sabha. (b. 1947-).
2006-09 Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Ambika Soni
2009-12 Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting
First General Secretary of
the Congress Party and Party Spokesperson 2001-06. After the reschuffle in 2006
there were 2 female cabinet ministers and 6 ministers of state in a government
with a total of 83 members.
2006-12 Minister of State of
Human Resource Development
Daggubati Purandeswari
2012-14 Minister of State of Commerce and Industry
Elected
MP in 2004. (b. 1959-).
2007-13 Minister of State of Home Affairs V. Radhika Selvi
Elected
MP in 2004. (b. 1976-).
Deputy Minister 1967-72 and Cabinet Minister 1972-83 and Congress Leader and Leader of the Opposition 1979-80 in Maharastra, Deputy Chairperson of the Union Upper House, the Rajya Sabha 1986-88, Governor of Rajasthan 2004-07. (b. 1934-).
Member of the Delhi Legislative
Assembly 1984-2004, Minister for Social Welfare, Labour and Employment
1998-2003, Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly 2003-04 and elected Member of the Lok
Sabha in 2004 and
Member of the Panel of
Chairmen of Lok Sabha
2006-09. (b. 1955-).
2009-14 Minister of State of External Affairs Preneet Kaur
Elected
Congress Member of the Lok Sabha in 1999. Married to
former Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh (Maharaja of Patiala). (b. 1944-).
2009-12 Minister of
Elected Congress Member of the Lok Sabha
in 2009. She is daughter of P. A. Sangma, former speaker of the Lok
Sabha and sister of Conrad Sangma, the Leader of the Opposition in Meghalaya.
(b. 1980-).
2012-14 Minister of State of Tribal
Affairs Ranee Narah
Deputy Chief Whip of the Indian National Congress from
2009
2012-14 Minister of State of Urban Development Deepa
Dasmunsi
2012-14
Minister of State of Communication and Information Technology Dr. Kruparani Killi
2013-14 Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation Girija Vyas
Former Minister of State in Rajasthan
2013-14
Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare Santosh Chowdhary
2014-16 Union Minister of Minority Affairs Dr.
Najma A. Heptulla
Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha 1985-86 and 1988-2004
and Acting Chair in 1997 and 1999, President of Inter-Parliamentary Union
1999-2002 and Governor of Manipur from 2016. (b. 1940-).
2014-16 Union Minister for Food Processing
Indutries Harsimrat Kaur Badal
2014-16 Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti
Zubin Irani
2016- Union Minister of Textiles
2014- Minister of State with Independent Charge of Commerce and Industry Nirmala
Sitharaman
2014-16 Minister of State of Finance and Corporate Affairs
2014-16 Minister of State for Food
Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan
Jyoti
2016- Minister of State of Women and Child Development Krishna Raj
2016- Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel
Last update 12.02.17