<p><br />From being a foreign service officer to a five-term MP and then a Cabinet minister, Meera Kumar has traversed a long way and a varied course that will come in handy to her in running the Lok Sabha that often throws itself into scenes of tumult.</p>.<p>Daughter of late Congress leader Jagjivan Ram, 64-year- old Kumar, Congress' dalit face, had a steady rise in the echelons of power becoming the first woman to occupy the high office of Lok Sabha Speaker</p>.<p>The career of Kumar in the rough and tumble of politics began when she quit her cushy IFS job and decided to fight the polls in 1985, a year before her father's death.</p>.<p>She was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh in 1985, defeating Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan.</p>.<p>Kumar became an MP again in 1996 and in 1998 from Delhi's Karol Bagh constituency but lost her seat in 1999 when NDA returned to power. She was re-elected in 2004 with a huge margin from Sasaram in Bihar, the constituency of her father.</p>.<p>In between, she had quit Congress for two years from 2000 citing differences with the party leadership. She rejoined the party in 2002.</p>.<p>Soft-spoken Kumar became a Cabinet minister in the 2004 government of Manmohan Singh. She held the Social Justice and Empowerment portfolio. </p>.<p>Kumar was appointed a Cabinet minister for a second time by Singh last week but resigned from the government on Sunday night after being chosen for Speakership.</p>.<p>Armed with a degree in law and a masters in English, she joined the IFS in 1973 and served in the embassies in Spain, the UK and Mauritius. She also served as a member of the India-Mauritius Joint Commission.</p>.<p>She was made an AICC General Secretary for two years from 1990 and again from 1996 to 1998. She became a member of the Congress Working Committee in 1990 and continued for ten year till 2000. After a gap of two year, she was reinducted in the CWC in 2002 and remained its member till 2004.</p>.<p>As an MP, she served, among others, as a member of the Consultative Commitee attached to the External Affair Ministry, Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub-Committee on Personnel Policy of Central Para-Military Forces and Joint Committee on Empowerment of Women. She was also a member of Committees on Food and Consumer Affairs and Environment and Forests. </p>.<p>Born in Patna on March 31, 1945, Kumar studied in Indraprastha College and Miranda House in Delhi University. She also has an advanced diploma in Spanish. Kumar became a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1980.</p>.<p>A keen sportperson, she has won medals in rifle shooting, besides being associated with equestrian events. Her interests include classical music.</p>.<p>She has been associated with a number of social and charitable organisations, many of them named after her father.</p>.<p>Married to Manjul Kumar, a Supreme Court lawyer, she has one son and two daughters.</p>
<p><br />From being a foreign service officer to a five-term MP and then a Cabinet minister, Meera Kumar has traversed a long way and a varied course that will come in handy to her in running the Lok Sabha that often throws itself into scenes of tumult.</p>.<p>Daughter of late Congress leader Jagjivan Ram, 64-year- old Kumar, Congress' dalit face, had a steady rise in the echelons of power becoming the first woman to occupy the high office of Lok Sabha Speaker</p>.<p>The career of Kumar in the rough and tumble of politics began when she quit her cushy IFS job and decided to fight the polls in 1985, a year before her father's death.</p>.<p>She was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh in 1985, defeating Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan.</p>.<p>Kumar became an MP again in 1996 and in 1998 from Delhi's Karol Bagh constituency but lost her seat in 1999 when NDA returned to power. She was re-elected in 2004 with a huge margin from Sasaram in Bihar, the constituency of her father.</p>.<p>In between, she had quit Congress for two years from 2000 citing differences with the party leadership. She rejoined the party in 2002.</p>.<p>Soft-spoken Kumar became a Cabinet minister in the 2004 government of Manmohan Singh. She held the Social Justice and Empowerment portfolio. </p>.<p>Kumar was appointed a Cabinet minister for a second time by Singh last week but resigned from the government on Sunday night after being chosen for Speakership.</p>.<p>Armed with a degree in law and a masters in English, she joined the IFS in 1973 and served in the embassies in Spain, the UK and Mauritius. She also served as a member of the India-Mauritius Joint Commission.</p>.<p>She was made an AICC General Secretary for two years from 1990 and again from 1996 to 1998. She became a member of the Congress Working Committee in 1990 and continued for ten year till 2000. After a gap of two year, she was reinducted in the CWC in 2002 and remained its member till 2004.</p>.<p>As an MP, she served, among others, as a member of the Consultative Commitee attached to the External Affair Ministry, Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub-Committee on Personnel Policy of Central Para-Military Forces and Joint Committee on Empowerment of Women. She was also a member of Committees on Food and Consumer Affairs and Environment and Forests. </p>.<p>Born in Patna on March 31, 1945, Kumar studied in Indraprastha College and Miranda House in Delhi University. She also has an advanced diploma in Spanish. Kumar became a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1980.</p>.<p>A keen sportperson, she has won medals in rifle shooting, besides being associated with equestrian events. Her interests include classical music.</p>.<p>She has been associated with a number of social and charitable organisations, many of them named after her father.</p>.<p>Married to Manjul Kumar, a Supreme Court lawyer, she has one son and two daughters.</p>