Morarji Desai

Morarji Desai
Desai in 1978
Prime Minister of India
In office 24 March 1977 (1977-03-24) – 28 July 1979 (1979-07-28)
President	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy[Note 1]
Vice President	B. D. Jatti
Deputy	Charan Singh (24 January 1979 to 16 July 1979) Jagjivan Ram (from 24 January 1979)
Preceded by	Indira Gandhi
Succeeded by	Charan Singh
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 1 July 1978 (1978-07-01) – 24 January 1979 (1979-01-24)
Preceded by	Charan Singh
Succeeded by	Hirubhai M. Patel
2nd Deputy Prime Minister of India
In office 13 March 1967 (1967-03-13) – 16 July 1969 (1969-07-16)
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Preceded by	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Succeeded by	Charan Singh Jagjivan Ram
Minister of Finance
In office 13 March 1967 (1967-03-13) – 16 July 1969 (1969-07-16)
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Preceded by	Sachindra Chaudhuri
Succeeded by	Indira Gandhi
In office 13 March 1958 (1958-03-13) – 29 August 1963 (1963-08-29)
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Jawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded by	T. T. Krishnamachari
2nd Chief Minister of Bombay State
In office 21 April 1952 (1952-04-21) – 31 October 1956 (1956-10-31)
Preceded by	B. G. Kher
Succeeded by	Yashwantrao Chavan
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1957 (1957)–1980 (1980)
Constituency	Surat, Gujarat
Personal details
Born	Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (1896-02-29)29 February 1896 Bhadeli, Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day Valsad, Gujarat, India)
Died	10 April 1995(1995-04-10) (aged 99) Bombay, Maharashtra, India (present-day Mumbai)
Political party	Janata Party (1977-1988)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (1934–1969) Indian National Congress (Organisation) (1969–1977) Janata Dal (1988–1995)
Spouse	Gujraben Desai ​ ​ (m. 1911; died 1981)​
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Mumbai
Profession	Activist politician
Awards	Bharat Ratna (1991) Nishan-e-Pakistan (1990)
Signature

Morarji Ranchhodji Desai^[1] (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995)^[2] was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his long career in politics, he held many important posts in government such as Chief Minister of Bombay State, Home Minister, Finance Minister and 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of India.

Following the death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Desai was a strong contender for the position of Prime Minister, only to be defeated by Indira Gandhi in 1966. He was appointed as Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister in Indira Gandhi's cabinet, until 1969. When Indian National Congress split in 1969 he became a part of the INC (O). After the controversial emergency was lifted in 1977, the political parties of the opposition fought together against the Congress (I), under the umbrella of the Janata Party, and won the 1977 election. Desai was elected prime minister, and became the first non-Congress prime minister of India. Desai was the second and the last prime minister to have been born in the nineteenth century.

On the international scene, Desai holds international fame for his peace activism and created efforts to initiate peace between India and rival Pakistan.^[3] After India's first nuclear test in 1974, Desai helped restore friendly relations with China and Pakistan, and vowed to avoid armed conflict such as the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. He was honoured with the highest civilian award of Pakistan, the Nishan-e-Pakistan on 19 May 1990.

He is the oldest person to hold the office of prime minister, at the age of 81, in the history of Indian politics.^[4] He subsequently retired from all political posts, but continued to campaign for the Janata Party in 1980. He was conferred with India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna. He died at the age of 99 in 1995.

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