Sharad Pawar

Pawar was born on 12 December 1940 in Baramati, in present-day Maharashtra. His parents were Govindrao Pawar and Shardabai Pawar. The Rajya Sabha’s biographical directory describes his educational qualification as undergraduate and his profession as agriculture. He married Pratibha Pawar in 1967. Their daughter Supriya Sule has also served in Parliament, first in the Rajya Sabha and subsequently in the Lok Sabha.

Pawar entered the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1967. His state ministerial responsibilities included education, agriculture, industries, home, labour and youth welfare. He went on to serve four terms as Chief Minister: 1978–1980, 1988–1990, 1990–1991 and 1993–1995. A Rajya Sabha account of his career records six terms in the state assembly and one in the Legislative Council, alongside his later parliamentary service.

Pawar’s national political career included service in seven Lok Sabhas and Union cabinet responsibility for defence and agriculture. He subsequently entered the Rajya Sabha, where a December 2024 parliamentary synopsis recorded him serving his second term, begun in April 2020. He was re-elected from Maharashtra in 2026 and took the oath on 6 April, as reported by the national public broadcaster.

Alongside elected office, Pawar held leadership roles in cricket administration. The Rajya Sabha’s account identifies his service as president of the International Cricket Council, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Mumbai Cricket Association. It also records his memoir, On My Terms, and his receipt of the Padma Vibhushan. These roles and publications form a separate part of his public career outside legislative and ministerial office.