Manmohan Singh was an Indian economist, academic and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India for two consecutive terms (2004–09 and 2009–14). Singh held prominent posts in different organisations and received several honours for his work even before beginning his political career. He held various posts such as an advisor to the Foreign Trade Ministry, chief economic advisor in the Ministry of Finance, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and deputy head of the Planning Commission. As the finance minister in the P. V. Narasimha Rao government in the 1990s, he carried out several structural reforms that liberalised India's economy. Singh was re-elected as the prime minister in 2009. He was the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term. Singh was also the first and only Sikh to hold the office and the only prime minister of India to never win a direct popular election.
Born in 1932 in Gah (British India), Singh received his early education from the Hindu College, Amritsar, where his family migrated after the Partition of India. From 1966 to 1969, he worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Later, Singh worked as a professor of International Trade at the Delhi School of Economics from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, he was appointed as the chief economic adviser to the Ministry of Finance. He became a secretary in the Finance Ministry in 1976. From 1980 to 1982, he worked for the Planning Commission of India. He served as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India from September 1982 to January 1985.
In 1985, Singh was appointed as the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, a post he held until 1987. From 1987 to 1990, Singh worked as the secretary general of the South Commission, an independent economic think-tank based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1990, Singh became the adviser on economic affairs to the prime minister, following his return to India. In 1991, he was appointed as the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Later that year, prime minister P. V. Narasimha Rao appointed him the Finance Minister of India, in his government—a post Singh held until 1996. Despite strong opposition, as finance minister, he was successful in implementing reforms aimed at enhancing productivity and liberalising of India's economy. In 1993, Singh led Indian delegations to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Cyprus and to the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.
Singh was first elected to the upper house of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, in 1991 by the legislature of the state of Assam; he was re-elected in 1995, 2001, 2007, 2013, and 2019. In the 2004 general elections, the Indian National Congress party joined some allies to form the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi recommended Singh's name for the post of prime minister and in May 2004, he became the 13th prime minister. In 2009, UPA was again successful in forming the government in the 15th Lok Sabha elections, and he was re-elected as the prime minister of India in 2009. Singh died in 2024.
National honours Ribbon Decoration Country Date Location Presenter Note Padma Vibhushan 28 March 1987 (announced 26 January 1981)New DelhiPresidentZail SinghThe second-highest civilian honour of India.
Foreign honours Ribbon Decoration Country Date Location Presenter Note Order of King Abdulaziz28 February 2010RiyadhKingAbdullahSpecial Class, the second-highest civilian honour of Saudi Arabia.Order of the Paulownia Flowers5 November 2014(announced 3 November 2014)TokyoEmperorAkihitoGrand Cordon, the second-highest civilian honour of Japan.
Scholastic Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships Year Fellowship Institution Country 1957 Wrenbury scholar University of Cambridge 1976 Honorary professor Jawaharlal Nehru University 1982 Honorary fellow Indian Institute of Bankers Honorary fellow St John's College, Cambridge 1985 President Indian Economic Association 1986 National fellow National Institute of Education 1994 Honorary fellow All India Management Association Nuffield College, Oxford Distinguished fellow London School of Economics 1996 Honorary professor Delhi School of Economics 1999 Fellow National Academy of Agricultural Sciences 2005 Honorary fellow All India Institute of Medical Sciences 2005 Honorary professor Moscow State University
Honorary degrees Year Degree University Country 1983 Doctor of Letters Panjab University 1997 Doctor of Laws University of Alberta 2005 Doctor of Civil Law University of Oxford 2006 University of Cambridge 2007 Doctor of Letters University of Jammu 2008 University of Madras Banaras Hindu University 2010 King Saud University Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Other awards Year Award Country/Organisation Notes 1952 University MedalPanjab University For standing first in BA Honors (Economics). 1954 Uttar Chand Kapur Medal For standing first in MA (Economics). 1955 Wright Prize for Distinguished Performance St John's College, Cambridge 1956 Adam Smith Prize University of Cambridge 1995 Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award Indian Science Congress Association 1997 Nikkei Asia Prize Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. Justice K. S. Hegde Award Justice K. S. Hegde Foundation Lokmanya Tilak National Award Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust 1999 H.H. Kanchi Shri Paramacharya Award for Excellence Ramaswamy Venkataraman Centenarian Trust 2000 Annasaheb Chirmule Award Annasaheb Chirmule Trust 2002 Outstanding Parliamentarian Award Indian Parliamentary Group 2008 Agricola Medal Food and Agriculture Organization The highest agricultural award given by the United Nations. 2010 World Statesman Award Appeal of Conscience Foundation 2017Indira Gandhi PrizeIndira Gandhi Memorial Trust2025P. V. Narasimha Rao Memorial AwardP. V. Narasimha Rao Memorial FoundationPosthumously awarded.
Addresses to foreign legislatures Country Legislature Date Ref.National Assembly of Mauritius31 March 2005United States Congress19 July 2005National Diet14 December 2006National Assembly of Nigeria15 October 2007Parliament of Bhutan17 May 2008National Assembly of Afghanistan13 May 2011Federal Parliamentary Assembly25 May 2011People's Majlis12 November 2011
Recognition Year Recognition Organisation 1993 Finance Minister of the Year Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year Asiamoney 1994 2005 100 Most Influential People in the World Time 2006 Indian of the Year CNN-IBN 2009 36th Most Powerful Person in the World Forbes 2010 The Most Respected Leader in the World Newsweek 18th Most Powerful Person in the World Forbes 100 Most Influential People in the World Time 2011 19th Most Powerful Person in the World Forbes July 2012 Cover of Time Magazine(Asia Edition) Time 2012 20th Most Powerful Person in the World Forbes 2013 28th Most Powerful Person in the World
See also List of Padma Vibhushan award recipients
References