Thawar Chand Gehlot (born 18 May 1948) is an Indian politician who is the current Governor of Karnataka since 2021, being the first person serving as the Governor of Karnataka from Madhya Pradesh. He assumed office of the Governor of Karnataka on 11 July 2021. He also served as the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment in the Government of India from 2014 to 2021. He was also the Leader of the House in the upper house of Indian Parliament. He was a member of the Parliamentary Board and the Central Election Committee of the BJP.

Early life

Gehlot was born in a Dalit family in the village of Rupeta in Nagda in the Central India Agency of the Dominion of India, which is in present-day Madhya Pradesh, India. His family migrated from Rupeta to Nagda when factories of Grasim Industries were set up in Nagda. He worked hard in his early life and was specially keen to many sports such as kabaddi and hockey.

He is a senior member of Bharatiya Janata Party. He had assumed ministerial berth a number of times in the union government.

He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree from Vikram University, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

Career

In 1980 he participated in the Vidhan Sabha election from Alote.

He was a member of the Rajya Sabha, upper house of Indian Parliament representing the state of Madhya Pradesh. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences. He formerly represented Shajapur in the lower house of Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha from 1996 to 2009. He served as the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, in Modi's 2nd cabinet. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was also the general secretary of the party.

Governor

On 6 July 2021, Thawar Chand Gehlot was appointed the 13th Governor of Karnataka.

External links

Lok Sabha
Preceded byPhool Chand VermaMember of Parliament for Shajapur 1996–2009Succeeded byConstituency dissolved
Political offices
Preceded bySelja KumariMinister of Social Justice and Empowerment 26 May 2014 - 8 July 2021Succeeded byVirendra Kumar Khatik
Preceded byArun JaitleyLeader of the House of the Rajya Sabha 11 June 2019 - 6 July 2021Succeeded byPiyush Goyal