Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (; born 18 May 1933) is an Indian politician who served as the

prime minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

from 1996 to 1997. He previously served as the

chief minister of Karnataka The Chief minister (India), chief minister of Karnataka is the Head of government, chief executive officer of the Government of Karnataka, government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnatak ...

from 1994 to 1996 and as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

. A member of the

Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...

, he has been serving as the party's president since 1999 and has been an MP in 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 ...

representing

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

since 2020. Born in a family of farmers, Deve Gowda joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

(INC) in 1953 and remained a member until 1962. He became president of the state unit of the

Janata Dal Janata Dal () was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha on 11 October 1988—the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Na ...

in 1994 and was considered to be a driving force in the party's

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

. He served as the

from 1994 to 1996. In the

1996 general elections General elections were held in India on 27 April, 2 May and 7 May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha, eleventh Lok Sabha. The elections resulted in a hung parliament with no single party having a clear majority. The Bharatiya Jan ...

, no party won enough seats to form a government and Deve Gowda was elected to serve as prime minister as head of the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

coalition. His premiership lasted for less than a year and he left office in April 1997. After his prime ministerial tenure, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament until his defeat in 2019. Deve Gowda was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

to the

in 2020.

Early life and career

H. D. Deve Gowda was born on 18 May 1933 in

Haradanahalli Haradanahalli is a village in the Holenarasipur Taluk of Hassan District in the state of Karnataka, India. Haradanahalli is home town of 11th Prime Minister of India, H. D. Deve Gowda who was born on 18 May 1933 in Haradanahalli village. No ...

, a village in

Holenarasipura Holenarasipura is a town and taluk in Hassan district of Karnataka. The town is situated on the banks of the Hemavati, one of the tributaries of the Kaveri. Demographics India census, Holenarasipura had a population of 29,938. Males constitu ...

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

, of the erstwhile

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

(now in

Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

). His father Dodde Gowda was a

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *A nickname or slur for an Irish person Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black ...

farmer and mother, Devamma was a home maker. Gowda earned a diploma in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from L. V. Polytechnic, Hassan, in the early 1950s. Deve_Gowda_and_Manmohan_Singh

Deve Gowda joined the

party in 1953 and remained a member until 1962. During that period, he was President of Anjaneya Cooperative Society of Holenarasipura and later became a member of the Taluk Development Board of Holenarasipura.

State politics (1962–1996)

In 1962, Deve Gowda was elected to the

Karnataka Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature ...

from Holenarasipura constituency as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

. Later, he was elected from the same constituency to the Assembly for six consecutive terms from 1962 to 1989. He joined the

Congress (O) The Indian National Congress (Organisation) also known as Congress (O) or Syndicate/Old Congress was a political party in India formed when the Congress party split following the expulsion of Indira Gandhi. On 12 November 1969, the Prime Minist ...

during the Congress split. He served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly from March 1972 to March 1976 and from November 1976 to December 1977. During the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

in the 1970s, he was imprisoned in the Bangalore Central Jail. Later, Deve Gowda served as the two-time president of the state unit of the

Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...

. He served as a minister in the Janata Party Government in Karnataka headed by

Ramakrishna Hegde Ramakrishna Mahabaleshwar Hegde (29 August 1926 – 12 January 2004) was an Indian politician who served as the third Chief Minister of Karnataka for three terms between 1983 and 1988. He was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1 ...

from 1983 to 1988. When

V.P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...

joined Janata Dal,

Subramanian Swamy Subramanian Swamy (born 15 September 1939) is an Indian politician, economist and statistician. Before joining politics, he was a professor of Mathematical Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is known for his Hindu ...

formed Janata Party (Jaya Prakash) faction, and Deve Gowda joined him to become Janata Party (JP)'s Karnataka President. He was later defeated from Holenarasipur in 1989, and soon later rejoined

. He became president of the state unit of the

in 1994 and led the party to victory in the 1994 State Assembly elections. He was elected from the Ramanagara, and sworn in as the 14th

Chief Minister of Karnataka The Chief minister (India), chief minister of Karnataka is the Head of government, chief executive officer of the Government of Karnataka, government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnatak ...

in December. As chief minister, Gowda toured

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and attended the Forum of International Economists. His tour to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

brought in foreign investment to the State. He resigned from the position to serve as prime minister following his appointment in 1996.

Prime Minister (1996–1997)

Following the

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

government was defeated with no other party winning enough seats to form a government. When the

(a conglomeration of non-Congress and non-BJP regional parties) decided to form the Government at the Centre with the support of the Congress and CPI(M), Deve Gowda was unexpectedly chosen to head the government after

V. P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...

and

Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu (born Jyotirindra Basu; 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010) was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest ...

declined. He was sworn-in as the 11th

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

in June 1996 and was elected to the

in September 1996 during his tenure as prime minister. During his tenure, he served as the

Home Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

and as the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the United Front, the policy-making committee consisting of other coalition party leaders. He is credited for providing financial closure and kickstarting development of the

Delhi Metro The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system that serves Delhi and the adjoining satellite cities of Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida, Bahadurgarh, and Ballabhgarh in the National Capital Region (India), National Capital Region of India. The system cons ...

Project. He left office on 21 April 1997 after the Congress revoked its support for Gowda amidst discontent over communication between the coalition and the Congress. It compromised to support a new government under

I. K. Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral (4 December 1919 – 30 November 2012) was an Indian diplomat, politician, and anti-colonial independence activist, who served as prime minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998. Born in Punjab, he was influenced by ...

, who served as the prime minister from 21 April 1997 to 19 March 1998.

Post-premiership (1997–present)

He was defeated in the 1999 general elections. He was elected president of the

the same year. The 2004 Karnataka state elections witnessed the revival of his party's fortunes under the leadership of

Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah (born 3 August 1947), also referred to by his nickname Siddu, is an Indian politician who is serving as the 22nd List of chief ministers of Karnataka, chief minister of Karnataka from 20 May 2023. He also held that position previo ...

with the

winning 58 seats and becoming a part of the ruling coalition in the state. Later, the party joined with the BJP and formed another government in 2006. Deve Gowda's son,

H. D. Kumaraswamy Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy (born 16 December 1959) is an Indian politician and film producer who is serving as the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Minister of Heavy Industries and Ministry of Steel, Steel of India since 10 June 2024. He ...

, headed the BJP-JD(S) coalition government in the state for 20 months. The alliance was defeated in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

B. S. Yediyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he has served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, chief minister of ...

was elected as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Deve Gowda verbally abused Yediyurappa. This event was termed as a "new low in Indian politics". Deve Gowda later apologised for hurling abuse at him. Deve Gowda expelled

and CM Ibrahim from the JD(S) in 2005. Later, both

and CM Ibrahim joined the Indian National Congress, which won the

2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election The 2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election was held on 5 May 2013 to elect members from 223 constituencies in the Indian state of Karnataka. The election for the Piriyapatna constituency was postponed to 28 May 2013 due to the death of th ...

, with Siddaramaiah being elected as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Deve Gowda contested the 2019 general elections against G. S. Basavaraj in Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency of

. G. S. Basavaraj, BJP candidate of Tumkur Constituency won against Deve Gowda by a margin of 13,339 votes. G. S. Basavaraj polled 596,127 votes while Deve Gowda got 582,788 votes. He has been elected to Rajya Sabha.

Personal life

He married

Chennamma Chennamma may refer to: * Chennamma Deve Gowda, spouse of former Indian prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda. *Kittur Chennamma (1778–1829), the queen of the princely state of Kittur in Karnataka who fought the British army *Keladi Chennamma Kel ...

in 1954. They have six children together: four sons, including politicians H. D. Revanna and

, who is the former

, and two daughters. He is the father-in-law of politician

Anitha Kumaraswamy Anitha Kumaraswamy is an Indian politician and businesswoman working in entertainment industry. Currently she is a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Ramanagara and earlier represented Madhugiri from 2008 to 2013. She belongs to ...

and grandfather of actor

Nikhil Kumaraswamy Nikhil Kumaraswamy (born 22 January 1988) is an Indian actor and politician known for his work in Kannada films. He made his acting debut with the Kannada-Telugu bilingual film ''Jaguar'' (2016). Personal life Nikhil Kumarswamy is the son of ...

, politicians

Prajwal Revanna Prajwal Revanna (born 5 August 1990) is an Indian politician who served as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha from Hassan constituency. In 2019, he was the third youngest member of parliament in India. In 2024, Prajwal was accused of raping nume ...

and

Suraj Revanna Suraj Revanna is an Indian politician and physician who is serving as a Member of Karnataka Legislative Council from Hassan district. His political party is the Janata Dal (Secular). Personal life He was born on 1 January 1988. He is the son ...

Electoral history

Positions held

References

External links

*
Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda
''Prime Ministers Office, Archived'' , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gowda, H. D. Deve 1933 births Living people People from Hassan district Prime ministers of India Chief ministers of Karnataka Gowda administration Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians Janata Dal (Secular) politicians Janata Dal politicians Janata Party politicians Samajwadi Janata Party politicians Kannada people Ministers of internal affairs of India Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka Lok Sabha members from Karnataka Indian people imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Leaders of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Chief ministers from Janata Dal Agriculture ministers of India Ministers of power of India Mysore MLAs 1962–1967 Mysore MLAs 1967–1972 Mysore MLAs 1972–1977 Karnataka MLAs 1978–1983 Karnataka MLAs 1983–1985 Karnataka MLAs 1985–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 India MPs 2014–2019