| Balram Jakhar | |
| Order: | 14th |
| Office: | Governor of Madhya Pradesh |
| Term Start: | 20 July 2004 |
| Term End: | 19 July 2009 |
| 1Blankname: | Chief Minister |
| 1Namedata: | Uma Bharti Babulal Gaur Shivraj Singh Chouhan |
| Predecessor: | Lt. Gen. K. M. Seth (Acting) |
| Successor: | Rameshwar Thakur |
| Office1: | Governor of Gujarat |
| Status1: | Additional Charge |
| Term Start1: | 12 July 2004 |
| Term End1: | 24 July 2004 |
| 1Blankname1: | Chief Minister |
| 1Namedata1: | Narendra Modi |
| Predecessor1: | Kailashpati Mishra |
| Successor1: | Nawal Kishore Sharma |
| Office2: | 19th Minister of Agriculture |
| Primeminister2: | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Term Start2: | 21 June 1991 |
| Term End2: | 17 January 1996 |
| Predecessor2: | Devi Lal |
| Successor2: | Jagannath Mishra |
| Order3: | 8th |
| Office3: | Speaker of the Lok Sabha |
| Term Start3: | 22 January 1980 |
| Term End3: | 27 November 1989 |
| Deputy3: | G. Lakshmanan M. Thambi Durai |
| Predecessor3: | K. S. Hegde |
| Successor3: | Rabi Ray |
| Office4: | Leader of Opposition of the Punjab Legislative Assembly |
| Term Start4: | 19 June 1977 |
| Term End4: | 17 February 1980 |
| Predecessor4: | Prakash Singh Badal |
| Successor4: | Prakash Singh Badal |
| Birth Date: | 23 August 1923 |
| Birth Place: | Panjkosi, Punjab, British India |
| Death Date: | [1] |
| Death Place: | Delhi, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Party: | Indian National Congress |
| Profession: | Farmer, Politician |
| Children: | Sunil Jakhar, Sajjan Jakhar, Surinder Jakhar |
| Parents: | Rajaram Jakhar (father) and Paato Devi (mother) |
Balram Jakhar (23 August 1923 – 3 February 2016) was an Indian politician, who served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He was also the longest serving Speaker of the Lok Sabha, whose tenure lasted 9 years and 329 days. Jakhar was among the popular faces of Jat politics in Rajasthan during 1980s. He served as the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare from 1991 to 1996 in Government of India. He was a member of Indian National Congress.[2] [3] [4] [5]
Jakhar was born in a Hindu Jat family in Panjkosi village of Fazilka district in Punjab now in Fazilka on 23 August 1923. His father was Chaudhari Rajaram Jakhar and his mother was Pattodevi Jakhar migrated to Pankosi from Montgomery District of West Punjab in 1900.Jakhar earned a degree in Sanskrit from Forman Christian College, Lahore, in 1945. He had knowledge of English, Punjabi, Urdu, Sanskrit and Hindi languages.
A lifelong member of the Congress party, Jakhar founded the Bharatiya Krishak Samaj, a farmers' organization, in 1965. He was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1972 and was re-elected in 1977, becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
Jakhar then moved to national politics. He was elected in 1980 to the seventh Lok Sabha from Ferozepur and in 1984 to the eighth Lok Sabha from Sikar. He had the distinction of being elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha during his very first term in the house. Furthermore, served twice as Speaker of Lok Sabha, a rare achievement in Indian parliament history, holding office from 1980 to 1989, thus became the longest serving speaker in history. As Speaker of Lok Sabha, he promoted automation and computerization of Parliamentary works. He promoted Parliament library, reference, research, documentation and information services for the knowledge and use of members of Parliament. The establishment of Parliament Museum was his contribution. He was the first Asian to be elected Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentarian Executive Forum.
He was an attendee of the second Provisional World Parliament held in New Delhi on March 17, 1985.[6]
The Sikar parliamentary seat was won by Devi Lal in the elections of 1989. In 1991, Jakhar was again elected to parliament from the Sikar constituency and his party returned to power in India. Jakhar was made Union Agriculture minister under Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in 1991.
After the Congress party returned to power in 2004, he was appointed Governor of Madhya Pradesh and served from 30 June 2004 to 30 May 2009.[7]
Jakhar was the father of three sons:
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