Vakkom Purushothaman

His Excellency
Vakkom Purushothaman
Purushothaman (center) in 2012
9th Governor of Mizoram
In office
2 September 2011 (2011-09-02)[1] – 6 July 2014 (2014-07-06)
Chief MinisterLal Thanhawla
Preceded byMadan Mohan Lakhera
Succeeded byKamla Beniwal
14th Governor of Tripura
In office
30 June 2014 (2014-06-30) – 14 July 2014 (2014-07-14)
Chief MinisterManik Sarkar
Preceded byDevanand Konwar
Succeeded byPadmanabha Acharya
6th Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In office
19 March 1993 (1993-03-19) – 18 March 1996 (1996-03-18)
Preceded bySurjit Singh Barnala
Succeeded byIshwari Prasad Gupta
Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
2001–2004
Chief MinisterA. K. Antony
Preceded byM. Vijayakumar
Succeeded byTherambil Ramakrishnan
In office
1982–1984
Chief MinisterK. Karunakaran
Preceded byA. C. Jose
Succeeded byV. M. Sudheeran
Minister of Finance and Excise, Government of Kerala
In office
2004–2006
Chief MinisterOommen Chandy
Preceded byK. Sankaranarayanan
Succeeded byT. M. Thomas Isaac
Minister of Health and Tourism, Government of Kerala
In office
1980–1981
Chief MinisterE. K. Nayanar
Preceded byK.P. Prabhakaran (Health)
Succeeded byR. Sundaresan Nair
Minister of Agriculture and Labour, Government of Kerala
In office
1971–1977
Chief MinisterC. Achutha Menon
Preceded byBaby John (Labour)
N.K. Balakrishnan (Agriculture)
Succeeded byOommen Chandy (Labour)
K. Sankaranarayanan (Agriculture)
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
1984–1991
Preceded bySusheela Gopalan
Succeeded byT. J. Anjalose
ConstituencyAlappuzha
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office
2001–2006
Preceded byAnathalavattom Anandan
Succeeded byAnathalavattom Anandan
ConstituencyAttingal
In office
1970–1984
Preceded byK. P. K. Das
Succeeded byP. Vijayadas
ConstituencyAttingal
Personal details
Born(1928-04-12)12 April 1928
Vakkom, Kingdom of Travancore, British India
(present-day Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India)
Died31 July 2023(2023-07-31) (aged 95)
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseDr. Lily Purushothaman
Children3

Vakkom B. Purushothaman (12 April 1928 – 31 July 2023) was an Indian politician who served as the Governor of Mizoram from 2011 to 2014, Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, state minister and Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.


Vakkom B. Purushothaman was born at Vakkom near Trivandrum, the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore, on 12 April 1928, as the eldest son of Bhanu Panicker and Bhavani Amma. He was also the grandson of Pappu Tharakan, a notable businessman in Travancore.[2]

He started his political life as an active worker of the Students' Congress (now called Kerala Students Union) in 1946, he became a member of Vakkom Panchayat in 1953. Later, he served as President of the District Congress Committee, Thiruvananthapuram and the General Secretary and Vice–President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. He has been a member of All India Congress Committee for over 35 years.[3]

Political life

[edit]

Vakkom Purushothaman was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980 and 1982 from Attingal constituency. From 1971 to 1977, he held the portfolio of Agriculture and Labour in the Ministry headed by C. Achutha Menon. From 1980 to 1981, he was the Minister for Health and Tourism in the Nayanar Ministry.[4] He served as Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1984 and then served for two terms as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, 1984–1991 representing Alappuzha constituency, during which time he was also Chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings and the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of Parliament. He was the Chairman of the Consultative Committee of Experts to the Inter Parliamentary Union for five years.[5][6]

From 1993 to 1996, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 1996, he lost in the Kerala Legislative Assembly election from Attingal constituency. He was elected from Attingal in 2001 and became the Speaker for a second time, holding office from 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he was made the Minister for Finance and Excise in the Oommen Chandy led UDF government and he briefly officiated as Chief Minister in 2006.[7]

House Election Constituency Result Vote margin
Kerala Legislative Assembly 1967 Attingal Lost 5045
1970 Won 11531
1977 Won 8560
1980 Won 13073
1982 Won 7359
Parliament 1984 Alappuzha Won 37764
1989 Won 25123
1991 Lost 14075
Kerala Legislative Assembly 1996 Attingal Lost 1016
2001 Won 10816

Governor of Mizoram

[edit]

On 26 August 2011, President Pratibha Patil appointed Vakkom B. Purushothaman as the new Governor of Mizoram in place of Madan Mohan Lakhera. Vakkom B. Purushothaman was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Mizoram on 2 September 2011. He resigned on 11 July 2014 from his post due to his transfer to Nagaland.[8]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Purushothaman married his childhood sweetheart Dr. Lily Purushothaman, and they had two sons and one daughter; Biju, Binu and Bindu.[3] His elder son Biju died on 18 January 2012.

Vakkom Purushothaman died on 31 July 2023, at the age of 95.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Vakkom B Purusothaman new governor of Mizoram". The Economic Times. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Members - Kerala Legislature". www.niyamasabha.org. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b "VakkomPurushothaman". stateofkerala.in. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  4. ^ "VakkomPurushothaman".
  5. ^ "KERALA LEGISLATURE - MEMBERS Vakkom B. Purushothaman". Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Governor Vakkom Purushothaman". Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Governor of Mizoram". Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Mizoram governor VB Purushothaman resigns". Patrika Group. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  9. ^ Former Kerala speaker Vakkom Purushothaman dies at 95
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