Manmohan Singh

Dr. Manmohan Singh (Punjabi:ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ;Hindi:मनमोहन सिंह; 26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was the 13th Prime Minister of India. A famous economist, he was the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term, and the first Sikh to hold the office.

Early life
Singh was born on 26 September 1932 in Gah, Punjab, British India, into a Sikh family. After the partition of India they moved to Amritsar. He studied at Panjab University, Chandigarh, at St John's College, Cambridge, and at Nuffield College, Oxford. Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958.

Prime Minister of India
In 2004, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance came to power, its chairperson Sonia Gandhi stepped down as leader of the India National Congress and supported Singh to replace her. His first ministry passed many important legislations and projects, including the National Rural Health Mission, Unique Identification Authority, Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and Right to Information Act. In 2008, many members of parliament were against a historic civil nuclear agreement with the United States. They voted in a vote of no confidence which nearly caused Singh's government to fall. India's economy grew faster during his term.

The 2009 general election saw the UPA return with an increased power, with Singh remaining as prime minister. Over the next few years, Singh's second ministry government were accused of corruption over the organisation of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2G spectrum allocation case and the Indian coal allocation scam. After his term ended, he decided not to return as prime minister during the 2014 Indian general election.

Singh was never a member of the Lok Sabha but served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Assam from 1991 to 2019 and Rajasthan from 2019 to 2024.

Death
Singh died on 26 December 2024 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India from heart disease at the age of 92.

References

Other websites

 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh official website
 Profile & Curriculum Vitae
 List of current Union Ministers

Category:1932 births
Category:2024 deaths
Category:Indian economists
Category:Indian National Congress politicians
Category:Politicians from Punjab, India
Category:Prime ministers of India
Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease