| Dr. Flinder Anderson Khonglam | |
| Order: | 8th |
| Office: | Chief Minister of Meghalaya |
| Term Start: | 8 December 2001 |
| Term End: | 4 March 2003 |
| Predecessor: | E.K. Mawlong |
| Successor: | D. D. Lapang |
| Constituency: | Sohra |
| Governor: | M. M. Jacob |
| Party: | Independent |
| Birth Date: | 1945 2, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Malki, Shillong, British India |
| Death Place: | Shillong, Meghalaya, India |
| Residence: | Laitumkhrah |
Dr. Flinder Anderson Khonglam (6 February 1945 – 22 May 2012) was an Indian politician and physician. He served as the eighth Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 2001 to 2003.[1] Khonglam was the first independent legislator to serve as the Chief Minister of any Indian state in history.[2] [3]
Khonglam was born in Malki, Shillong, Assam (now Meghalaya) on 6 February 1945.[2] He was the oldest of eight children born to his parents, Richard N. Lyngdoh and L. Khonglam.[2] He was a doctor, working at Nazareth Hospital and several other government-owned medical facilities in the state.[2]
Khonglam represented the Sohra (Cherrapunji) constituency in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly for almost twenty years.[1] [2] He first ran for the Assembly in 1978, but was defeated in the election by an opponent from the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP).[2] However, Khonglam, an independent won the 1983 state election by defeating an incumbent from the HSPDP.[2] In 1988, Khonglam lost his seat in the Assembly to an opponent from the Indian National Congress.[2]
He was re-elected in to the Meghalaya Assembly in 1993 as an independent.[2] He was re-elected to two more consecutive terms from the same constituency thereafter.[2] He won re-election during the 1990s as an independent.[2] Khonglam was elected again in 2003, this time as a candidate for the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP).[2]
He also headed the Peoples Forum of Meghalaya (PFM) and represented Sohra within the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).[3]
Khonglam's predecessor, former Chief Minister E.K. Mawlong, was forced to resign from office due to scandal involving the construction of the Meghalaya House in Kolkata.[1] Khonglam became Chief Minister of Meghalaya on 8 December 2001.[2] He became the first independent Chief Minister of an Indian state in history.[2] He became Chief Minister through the support of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by P. A. Sangma, which formed a coalition government with the Congress Party.[1] [2] Khonglam served as Chief Minister until 4 March 2003.[3]
Khonglam was defeated for re-election in the 2008 legislative election by Dr. P.W. Khongjee of the Indian National Congress party.[2]
He suffered from diabetes, which contributed to health problems in his later life, including one documented diabetic stroke.[2] Khonglam fainted at his home in Laitumkhrah, Shillong, on 22 May 2012. He was taken to Bethany Hospital in Shillong, where he died at 6:30 p.m. IST on 22 May 2012, at the age of 67.[2] Khonglam was buried in a cemetery in Malki.[3] Dignitaries in attendance at the funeral included the Meghalaya Deputy Chief Ministers, Bindo Lanong and Rowell Lyngdoh, and Hopingstone Lingdoh, the leader of the Hill State People's Democratic Party.[3]