Akhlaq Ur Rehman Kidwai (1 July 1921 – 24 August 2016) was an Indian

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

and politician. He served as governor of the states of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

and

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. He was a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house of the Indian parliament, from 1999 to 2004. He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

, India's second highest civilian award.

Early life and education

He was born in 1921 in Baragaon village of

Barabanki Barabanki is a city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. The city is about 30 km east of Lucknow, the state capital. It has a population of 146,831 with a dens ...

district in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

to father, late Ashfaqur Rehman Kidwai and mother, late Nasim-un-nisa.Biographical information on Kidwai
, legislativebodiesinindia.gov.in
, governor.bih.nic.in He was married to the late Jamila Kidwai, and had six children, two sons and four daughters. He studied BA at Jamia Millia Islamia University, 1940, M.Sc. at

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, US, 1948 and PhD at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, US, 1950.

Political and public career

Dr. Kidwai started his professional career as the Professor and head of Department of Chemistry and Dean of Faculty of Science at Aligarh Muslim University, India. Kidwai then went on to become the Chairman of Union Public Service Commission-UPSC,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

from 1974 to 1977. He was

Governor of Bihar The governor of Bihar is a nominal head and representative of the President of India in the state of Bihar. The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of 5 years. Phagu Chauhan is the current governor of Bihar. Former President Zaki ...

twice, from 1979 to 1985 and 1993 to 1998 and Governor of

from 1998 to 1999. In addition, he was Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University,

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

, from 1983 to 1991 and has also been the director of the Jammu & Kashmir Bank.A R Kidwai chosen for Padma Vibhushan
, Oneindia news, Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 22:01 ST/ref> Kidwai was a member of the

from January 1999 to July 2004. He was the Governor of Haryana from 7 July 2004 to 27 July 2009. After

Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...

's resignation as Governor of Rajasthan in June 2007, he was asked to take over that position as well, serving as Governor of the state until S. K. Singh took office on 6 September 2007. In addition to his political career, he has been a champion for promoting research and development and elevating the status of women by education and self-reliance. He served as the chairman of the Institute of Marketing and Management, New Delhi and President of Vocational Education Society for Women. Dr. Kidwai served as a member of the following national committees, organizations and institutions: *National Committee on Science and Technology, 1968–75. *Perspective Science and Technology Plan Committee of the Department of Science and Technology and the Planning Commission. *Council and the Governing Body of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) 1970–73. *Board of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Governing Bodies of Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow and Central Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. *Regional Imbalances Enquiry Commission, Jammu and Kashmir State, 1979. *State Planning Board and Heavy Industries Plan Committees, Government of Uttar Pradesh. *University Grants Commission (UGC) and Chairman of the Central Universities Review Committee, 1985–86. *Central Advisory Board of Education. *Central Council of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). *Committee on New Education Policy, 1986 and Chairman of its Sub-Committee on Non-Formal Methods of Education. *Member and Patron Delhi Public School Society (1968-continued). *Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, India. *Chairman, Review Committee on Unani Medicine, Ministry of Health, Government of India. *Chairman, Selection Board of Scientists Pool (1968–79). *Chairman of the Board of Assessment of Educational and Technical Qualification for Employment, Ministry of Education, Government of India (1967–79). *The American, British and Indian Chemical Societies. *American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Awards and honors

On January 25, 2011, Kidwai was awarded the

, India's second highest civilian award. The award was for his contribution towards ''Public Affairs''.

Death

He died on August 24, 2016 in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

after prolonged illness at the old age of 95."PM, Sonia, CMs condole A.R. Kidwai’s death , The Indian Awaaz"
''theindianawaaz.com''. Retrieved on 25 August 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidwai, Akhlaqur 1921 births 2016 deaths People from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh Indian Muslims 20th-century Indian chemists Scientists from Uttar Pradesh University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Cornell University alumni Indian Sunni Muslims Jamia Millia Islamia alumni Governors of Bihar Governors of Punjab, India Governors of Rajasthan Governors of West Bengal Governors of Haryana Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Chairmen of Union Public Service Commission