Prime Ministers of India – Rajiv Gandhi

Posted by on Feb 7, 2009 in Indian Politicians

Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest Prime Minister in Indian history when he entered the esteemed office in 1984 after the assasination of the then Prime Minister and also his mother Indira Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi at the age of 40 became the country’s 9th Prime Minister and had held the post for 5 years. Most part of his tenure saw him projected as a young and clean politician but towards the end, his name got maligned by the Bofors Scandal which led to a downfall for his party in the 1989 general elections.

In 1991 in the middle of an election rally in Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu), Rajiv was assasinated by an LTTE suicide bomber. It was a revenge act from the LTTE which was angry because of Rajiv Gandhi’s interference in Sri Lanka’s matters by sending in the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to destroy the LTTE millitant organization.

Rajiv Gandhi’s father Feroze Gandhi was a well known politician and of course his maternal grand father Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. Rajiv’s wife Sonia Gandhi is currently the President of his party Congress-I while his son Rahul Gandhi, a Member of Parliament is being projected as a future Prime Minister to continue the legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi brand in ruling India.

Below are some basic details about Rajiv Gandhi:

Place and Date of Birth: 20 August 1944, Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India

Died On: 21 May 1991, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India

Religion: Hinduism

Political Party: Congress-I

Tenure of Prime Ministership: 31 October 1984 – 2 December 1989

Parents’ Name: Feroze Gandhi(Father) and Indira Gandhi (Mother)

Wife’s Name: Sonia Gandhi (an Italian Citizen at the time of marriage in 1969)

Children’s Names: Has one son Rahul Gandhi and one daughter Priyanka Vadra (married to  Robert Vadra and has two children –  Raihan and Miraya)

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