Krishan Kant
Krishan Kant (28 February 1927 – 27 July 2002) was an Indian politician who served as the tenth vice president of India from 1997 until his death in 2002. Prior to his vice presidency, Kant was the governor of Andhra Pradesh from 1990 to 1997. He was a member of both houses of the Indian Parliament, representing Chandigarh in the Lok Sabha from 1977 to 1980, and Haryana in the Rajya Sabha from 1966 to 1977.
Krishan Kant | |
|---|---|
कृष्ण कान्त | |
| 10th Vice President of India | |
| In office 21 August 1997 – 27 July 2002 | |
| President | K. R. Narayanan A P J Abdul Kalam |
| Prime Minister | I. K. Gujral Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Preceded by | K. R. Narayanan |
| Succeeded by | Bhairon Singh Shekhawat |
| Governor of Tamil Nadu | |
| In office 22 December 1996 – 25 January 1997 | |
| Chief Minister | Muthuvel Karunanidhi |
| Preceded by | Marri Chenna Reddy |
| Succeeded by | Fatima Beevi |
| 15th Governor of Andhra Pradesh | |
| In office 7 February 1990 – 21 August 1997 | |
| Chief Minister | Marri Chenna Reddy Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Nara Chandrababu Naidu |
| Preceded by | Kumudben Manishankar Joshi |
| Succeeded by | C Rangarajan |
| Member of Lok Sabha for Chandigarh | |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Amarnath Vidyalankar |
| Succeeded by | Jagannath Kaushal |
| Member of Rajya Sabha for Haryana | |
| In office 1966–1977 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 February 1927 Kot Mohammad Khan, Punjab Province, British India |
| Died | 27 July 2002 (aged 75) New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Janata Dal (1988–2002) |
| Other political affiliations | Indian National Congress (Before 1977) Janata Party (1977–1988) |
| Spouse | Suman |
| Children | Divya Deepti Handa, Rashmi Kant and Sukant Kohli |
| Parent(s) | Achint Ram Satyavati Devi |
| Alma mater | Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi |
| Profession | Scientist |
| Signature | |
Kant was born to parents who were independence activists in Punjab, British India, and was himself arrested in Lahore during the Quit India movement. After independence, he studied chemical engineering and briefly worked as a scientist with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, before turning to politics.
Kant was initially associated with the Congress, but later joined the Janata Party and the Janata Dal. He was considered as a candidate for the 2002 presidential election, as was routine for vice presidents. However, the government and the opposition supported A. P. J. Abdul Kalam as the candidate. Kalam took oath as president two days prior to Kant's death. He remains the only Indian vice president to have died in office.