Dr. Farooq Abdullah is a prominent Indian politician who has been designated as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on a number of occasions since the year 1982. In August 1981, at the dawn of his political career, he was appointed as the President of the National Conference. In the 15th Lok Sabha of India he served as the Minister of New and Renewable Energy. He is a doctor of medicine by profession. He belongs to the Indian political party Jammu and Kashmir National Conference.
Early Life of Dr. Farooq Abdullah
Dr. Farooq Abdullah, son of Late Sheikh Abdullah and Late Akbar Jehan Begam, was born on the 21st of October 1937 in Srinagar in Kashmir.
Career of Dr. Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah began his political career on 21st of August in the year 1981 when he was appointed as the President of the National Conference. He was a beginner then in the political arena of Jammu and Kashmir. His major eligibility was that he was the son and heir of the nationalist Kashmiri leader, Sheikh Abdullah.
In the year 1984 the government under Abdullah was substituted with a pro-Congress Government under Ghulam Mohammed Shah. He was dismissed because of his refusal to get into an alliance with the Indian National Congress in the 1983 assembly election. His decision went against the then Congress president and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Later in the year 1987, Farooq Abdullah counterfeited an alliance with the Congress and came back as a temporary Chief Minister. Farooq Abdullah has supported the formalisation for the Line of Control as the international border between India and Pakistan. He also advocated sovereignty for Jammu and Kashmir within the Constitution of India. In the year 2002, Farooq Abdullah was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir for his first term of 6 years. In the year 2009 he was later re-elected.
Presently Farooq Abdullah is an active and popular politician and has handed over the responsibility of his party to his able son Omar Abdullah. He contested during the Indian general election 2009 from the Srinagar, Lok Sabha constituency and won it with a massive margin. Because of the alliance of his party, the National conference with the ruling party, the Indian National Congress, Dr. Farooq Abdullah was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on the 28th of May 2009. During his tenure Farooq Abdullah has held various positions.
Achievements of Dr. Farooq Abdullah
Dr. Farooq Abdullah has been awarded Dr. B.C. Roy Award as a medical man -cum-statesman; D.Litt. (Honoris causa), Aligarh Muslim University; and Degree of Letters (Honoris Causa), Pondicherry University, Puducherry.
Personal Life of Dr. Farooq Abdullah
Dr. Farooq Abdullah married Mollied Abdullah on 14th Sep 1968. They have a son and three daughters.
Positions Held by Dr. Farooq Abdullah
Year | Positions Held |
1980-82 | Elected to 7th Lok Sabha |
1982-83 | Member, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly |
Minister of Health, Jammu & Kashmir | |
1983-87 | Member, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly (second term) |
Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir | |
1987-90 | Member, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly (third term) |
Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir | |
1996-2002 | Member, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly (fourth term) |
Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir | |
2002 | Member, Rajya Sabha |
Dec. 2008-Feb. 09 | Member, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly (fifth term) |
Feb. 2009 | Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (2nd term) |
2009 | Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (2nd term) |
Leader, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha | |
31 May 2009 onwards | Union Cabinet Minister, New and Renewable Energy |
President, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference | |
Oct. 2012 onwards | Union Cabinet Minister, New and Renewable Energy |