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Offical

Name: Kumar, Ashwani
Current Position:

Ashwani Kumar has been the Union Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice since October 28, 2012.  Representing the state of Punjab, Kumar was elected to a seat in the Rajya Sabha in 2002, 2004, and 2009. 

 

The 60-year-old Kumar was born in Delhi to a family immersed in politics; his late father was involved in the Independence movement and held office as Speaker of the Punjab assembly.  Kumar graduated from St. Stephens College in Delhi with a BA, holds an LLB from University of Delhi, and earned his M. Phil in international law from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Kumar also holds an honorary JD from Panjab University. 

 

Kumar is seen as a Congress loyalist, with a record of party activities extending more than 30 years.  In 1976, he served as Secretary for the District Congress Committee of Gurdaspur in Punjab.  In 1986, he became the Organizing Secretary for the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee.  Since 1990, he’s been a member of the All India Congress Committee. During the 2009 elections, he served as a national spokesman for Congress.

 

A member of many Rajya Sabha committees, Kumar has also held several minister-of-state positions in United Progressive Alliance governments.  From January 29, 2006 to May 22, 2009, Kumar served as Minister of State for Industrial Policy and Promotion and for Commerce and Industry.  From January 19, 2011 to July 12, 2011, he was Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs.  From January 19, 2011 to October 2012, He was Minister of State for Planning, Science and Technology, and Earth Sciences.  Kumar took hold of the Law and Justice Ministry on October 28, 2012.

 

Before holding elected office, Kumar worked as a bureaucrat. He was appointed Additional Solicitor General in 1991.  He also practiced law at the Supreme Court.   Kumar’s book Law, Ideas and Ideology in Politics: Perspectives of an Activist was published in 2003.  Kumar is married with a son and a daughter. 

 

Official Biography

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