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 graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and politician. He served as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the states of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

and

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. Also, he worked as Governor (as an additional charge) of the state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. He was a member of the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, the upper house of the

Indian parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

, from 1999 to 2004. He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") 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 w ...

, India's second highest civilian award.

Early life and education

He was born in 1921 in Baragaon village of Barabanki district in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

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 Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

University, 1940, M.Sc. at

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, US, 1948 and PhD at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, 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 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

from 1974 to 1977. He was Governor of Bihar 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 Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) 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 capital, New Delhi. ...

, 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'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. 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 (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

after a long illness, aged 95."PM, Sonia, CMs condole A.R. Kidwai’s death , The Indian Awaaz"
''theindianawaaz.com''. Retrieved on 25 August 2016. He was buried at the Jamia Millia Islamia graveyard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidwai, Akhlaqur 1921 births 2016 deaths People from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh 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