V. S. Ramadevi (15 January 1934 – 17 April 2013) was an Indian politician who was the first lady to become the 8th Governor of Karnataka and 9th Chief Election Commissioner of India from 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990. She was the first woman to become Chief Election Commissioner of India. She was succeeded by T. N. Seshan. Ramadevi was the first (and to date, only) woman to serve as Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, from 1 July 1993 to 25 September 1997. She was also the first and to date, the only female

Governor of Karnataka The governor of Karnataka, formerly governor of Mysore, is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the president of India, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' ...

, from 2 December 1999 to 20 August 2002.

Career

Ramadevi was born in Chebrolu of

West Godavari District The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, India on 15 January 1934 (which happens to be the date of the

Sankranti Sankranti () refers to the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. In ''Saurmana'' ''varsha'' (Hindu Solar year), there are twelve Sankrantis corresponding with twelve months of a year. The Sankrantis can be broa ...

harvest festival). She was educated in

Eluru Eluru ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the List of municipal corporations in India#Andhra Pradesh, 14 municipal corporations ...

. She registered her name as advocate after completing M.A. LLB in the

Andhra Pradesh High Court The High Court of Andhra Pradesh is the High Court of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves the judicial duties of Andhra Pradesh. History The High Court of Andhra Pradesh was established in the year 1954 when the state was formed ...

. She served as the

Governor of Himachal Pradesh The governor of Himachal Pradesh (ISO: Himachal Pradēśa kē Rājyapāla) is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Shiv Pratap Shukla is the 22nd governor (31st if governors with additional charge also counted) of H ...

Past Governors in Raj Bhavan, Himachal Pradesh.
/ref> from 26 July 1997 to 1 December 1999 and as the

from 2 December 1999 to 20 August 2002. She died on 17 April 2013 in her residence in HSR Layout

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

References

External links

Biography at Governor of Karnataka website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramadevi, V. S. Chief Election Commissioners of India 1934 births 2013 deaths Governors of Karnataka Governors of Himachal Pradesh Indian civil servants People from Guntur district Women state governors of India Women in Himachal Pradesh politics Women in Karnataka politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians