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Son of Shri P. Ranga Rao, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao
was born on June 28, 1921 at Karimnagar. He studied
in Osmania University, Hyderabad, Bombay University
and the Nagpur University. A widower, Shri P.V. Narasimha
Rao is the father of three sons and five daughters.
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Being an agriculturist and an advocate, he joined
politics and held some important portfolios. He was
the Minister of Law and Information, 1962-64; Law
and Endowments, 1964-67; Health and Medicine, 1967
and Education, 1968-71, Government of Andhra Pradesh.
He was the Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, 1971-73;
General Secretary, All India Congress Committee, 1975-76;
Chairman, Telugu Academy, Andhra Pradesh, 1968-74;
Vice-President, Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha,
Madras, from 1972. He
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was also Member, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly,
1957-77; Member, Lok Sabha 1977-84 and was elected to
Eighth Lok Sabha from Ramtek in December, 1984. As Chairman,
Public Accounts Committee, 1978-79 he participated in
a Conference on South Asia convened by the School of
Asian and African Studies, London University. Shri Rao
also Chaired Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan's Andhra Centre;
he was Minister for External Affairs from January 14,
1980 to July 18, 1984; Minister of Home Affairs from
July 19, 1984 to December 31, 1984 and the Minister
of Defence from December 31, 1984 to September 25, 1985.
He then assumed charge as Minister of Human Resource
Development on September 25, 1985
A man of many interests, he likes music, cinema and
theatre. His special interest lies in Indian philosophy
and culture, writing fiction and political commentary,
learning languages, writing poems in Telugu and Hindi
and keeping abreast of literature in general. He has
successfully published 'SahasraPhan', a Hindi translation
of late Shri Viswanatha Satyanarayana's famous Telegu
Novel 'Veyi Padagalu' published by Jnanpith; 'Abala
Jeevitam', Telugu translation of late Shri Hari Narayan
Apte's famous Marathi Novel, "Pan Lakshat Kon gheto",
published by Central Sahitya Academy. He translated
other famous works from Marathi to Telugu and from Telugu
to Hindi, and published many articles in different magazines
mostly under a pen name. He lectured at Universities
in the U.S.A. and West Germany on political matters
and allied subjects. As Minister of External Affairs
he travelled extensively to U.K., West Germany, Switzerland,
Italy and Egypt in 1974.
During the period when he was Minister of External
Affairs, Shri Rao successfully brought to bear his scholarly
background and rich political and administrative experience
on the field of international diplomacy. He chaired
the III Conference of UNIDO at New Delhi in January
1980, within a few days of assuming charge. He also
chaired a meeting of the Group of 77 at New York in
March 1980. More recently, his role at the Conference
of Foreign Ministers of Non-aligned Countries in February
1981 earned him wide appreciation. Shri Rao has shown
keen personal interest in international economic issues
and personally led the Indian delegation to the Conference
of the Group of 77 on ECDC at Caracas, in May 1981.
1982 and 1983 were eventful years for India and its
foreign policy. In the shadow of the Gulf war the Non-aligned
Movement asked India to host the Seventh Summit. This
also meant India assuming the Chair of the Movement
and Smt. Indira Gandhi becoming its Chairperson. Shri
P.V. Narasimha Rao presided over meetings of Foreign
Ministers of Non-aligned Nations on the eve of the New
Delhi Summit and also at the United Nations both in
1982, when India was asked to host the Summit and the
following year when, at the initiative of the Movement,
informal consultations amongst Heads of State and Government
from diverse nations across the world were held at New
York.
Shri Rao was also the Leader of the Special Non-aligned
Mission that visited countries in West Asia in November
1983, in an effort to resolve the Palestian Liberation
Organisation. Shri Rao was associated actively with
the Commonwealth Heads of Government in New Delhi and
with the Action Group set up by the meeting on the question
of Cyprus.
In his capacity as Minister of External Affairs, Shri
Narasimha Rao has chaired on behalf of India a number
of Joint Commissions including those with the U.S.A.,
U.S.S.R., Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Vietnam, Tanzania
and Guyana.
Shri Narasimha Rao took over as Home Minister on July
19, 1984. He was re-appointed to this post, with the
additional charge of the Ministry of Planning, on November
5, 1984. Appointed Minister of Defence from December
31, 1984 to September 25, 1985. On September 25,1985
he took over as Minister of Human Resource Development.
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