Shivraj Patil

Shivraj Vishwanath Patil (born October 12, 1935) is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs. He has also served the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi cabinets as the defence minister during the 80's. He resigned from the post of Home-Minister on November 30, 2008 following widespread criticism raised after terrorist attacks on Mumbai. He resigned taking the moral responsibility for the attacks.

Early life

Patil was born in 1935 in the village of Chakur in the Latur district (Marathwada region) of Bombay State, British India. He attended Osmania University, Hyderabad, earning a degree in Science and studied Law at Bombay University. During 1967-69, he was involved in local government (Latur Municipality).

Patil belongs to the Lingayat community.

In state politics

Between 1972-80, he was member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for two terms of 1972-1978 and 1978 to 1980 during which time he held various positions such as Chairman of...
Read More