NEW WESTMINSTER COLLEGE APPOINTS 12TH PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA AS A DISTINGUISHED FELLOW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 13, 2012 -- The Board of Governors of New Westminster College is pleased to announce the appointment of His Excellency Inder Kumar Gujral, 12th Prime Minister of India, as a Distinguished Fellow.

His Excellency Inder Kumar Gujral, 12th Prime Minister of India (1997-1998), is a Distinguished Fellow and member of the Board of Governors of New Westminster College. Prime Minister Gujral formally studied at the Forman Christian College University and University of Pakistan and has been awarded the B.Com., M.A. in Economics, Ph.D., D.Litt (Honoris Causa). He has also received numerous honourary doctorates.

After India’s independence from British rule in 1947, Prime Minister Gujral was elected Vice-President of the New Delhi Municipal Committee, serving from 1956 to 1964. In 1964, he was elected Member of the Rajya Sabha, a position he held until 1976. From 1967 to 1976, he held several Ministerial positions, including Minister of Communications and Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Communications; Minister of Works and Housing; Minister of Information and Broadcasting; and Minister of Planning.

From 1976 to 1980, Prime Minister Gujral served as Ambassador of India to the former USSR, a Cabinet Rank position. He was Minister of External Affairs twice, from 1989 to1990 and from 1996 to 1998. He served as a Member of the Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. From 1993 to 1996, he served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce and as Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. In 1996, he became Leader of the House, serving until 1997. In 1997, he was elected as the 12th Prime Minister of India, serving until 1998.

Prime Minister Gujral has held many other important offices, including Chairman of the Indian Council of South Asian Cooperation, Member of the Capital Plan Monitoring Committee, President of the Institute of Defense Studies & Analysis (IDSA), Chairman of the Official Committee for the Promotion of Urdu, President of the Indo-Pak Friendship Society, and Convener and Spokesman of the United Front of the Opposition Parties Conclave at Calcutta, Srinagar and Delhi.

Prime Minister Gujral is also a Founding Member of the World Political Forum, Member of the Center for Security and International Studies (CSIS) Commission on Global Aging, Member of the International AIDS Trust, Member of the BOAO Forum forAsia, and Board Member of the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Prime Minister Gujral speaks fluent Urdu and spends part of his leisure time writing Urdu couplets. His wife, Sheila is a poet and author and his brother Satish Gujral is a prominent painter and architect.

Board of Governors     Distinguished Fellow     Distinguished Leaders     General Robert Goodwin III     Global Leadership     Governor Robert Goodwin III     New Westminster College     Prime Minister Inder K. Gujral