Manmohan Singh

Singh was born in Gah in the Punjab province of undivided India in 1932. His academic career included a master’s degree in economics from Panjab University, an economics Tripos at Cambridge and a doctorate at Oxford. He later taught at Panjab University and the Delhi School of Economics. He married Gursharan Kaur in 1958, and the couple had three daughters, according to his official biography.

Before entering the Union cabinet, Singh worked in economics teaching, international institutions and government administration. He served at UNCTAD and later as secretary-general of the South Commission. In India, his responsibilities included economic adviser, chief economic adviser and Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. He also served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission during the 1980s.

Singh served as Finance Minister from 1991 to 1996, a period associated with changes to India’s economic policies. He entered the Rajya Sabha in 1991 and later served as its Leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2004. His parliamentary work included chairing the standing committee on commerce. His earlier academic research concerned Indian exports and trade policy, subjects connected with his later work in economic administration.

Singh became Prime Minister on 22 May 2004 and took the oath for a second term in May 2009. His premiership ended on 26 May 2014. His honours included the Padma Vibhushan and Cambridge’s Adam Smith Prize. He died in New Delhi on 26 December 2024. The Union cabinet’s condolence resolution recorded his service as an economist, Finance Minister and Prime Minister, and the government arranged a state funeral.