Vayalar Ravi

Vayalar Ravi
Vayalar Ravi
Member of Rajya Sabha for Kerala
	In office; 22 April 2003 – 23 April 2021
Constituency	Kerala
	In office; 2 July 1994 – 1 July 2000
Constituency	Kerala
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs
	In office; 29 January 2006 – 26 May 2014
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Oscar Fernandes
Succeeded by	Sushma Swaraj
Minister of Science and Technology
	In office; 14 August 2012 – 28 October 2012
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Succeeded by	Jaipal Reddy
Minister of Earth Sciences
	In office; 14 August 2012 – 28 October 2012
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Succeeded by	Jaipal Reddy
Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
	In office; 14 August 2012 – 28 October 2012
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Vilasrao Deshmukh
Succeeded by	K. H. Muniyappa
Minister of Civil Aviation
	In office; 19 January 2011 – 18 December 2011
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Praful Patel
Succeeded by	Chaudhary Ajit Singh
Minister of Home Affairs, Kerala
	In office; 24 May 1982 – 24 May 1986
Chief Minister	K. Karunakaran
Preceded by	Oommen Chandy
Succeeded by	K. Karunakaran
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
	In office; 1971–1980
Preceded by	K. Anirudhan
Succeeded by	A. A. Rahim
Constituency	Chirayinkil
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
	In office; 1982–1991
Constituency	Cherthala
Personal details
Born	4 June 1937 (age 87); Alappuzha, Travancore, British India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Mercy Ravi
Residence	Kerala
	Source: [1]

Vayalar Ravi (born 4 June 1937^[1]) is an Indian politician, who served as the Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs from 2006 to 2014. He is a former member of the Rajya Sabha.

Political life

Ravi was born in Vayalar, Cherthala, Alappuzha District, Kerala. He was the first General Secretary of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), the students' wing of Indian National Congress in Kerala.^[1]^[2]^[3] Ravi was elected to the 5th Lok Sabha in 1971^[1]^[3] from Chirayinkil in Thiruvananthapuram district;^[3] he was re-elected to the 6th Lok Sabha in 1977,^[1]^[3] serving until 1979.^[1] He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1982,^[1]^[3] and he served as Home Minister of Kerala from 1982 to 1986^[2]^[3] before resigning from that position due to a disagreement with Chief Minister K. Karunakaran.^[2] He was re-elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1987,^[3] serving until 1991.^[1] He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in July 1994 and again in April 2003.^[1] He became Union Cabinet Minister for Overseas Affairs on 30 January 2006.^[3]

After the Congress reelection in 2009, Ravi was re-inducted to the Cabinet for the second UPA government and retained the portfolio of Overseas Indian Affairs. He was given the additional responsibility of Ministry of Civil Aviation on 19 January 2011. He resigned from the office after Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh succeeded him.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Vayalar Ravi was born to a prominent Ezhava family, as son of M.K Krishnan, a veteran freedom fighter and a social activist and Devaki Amma a congress party leader in Vayalar, Kerala. Ravi met his wife Mercy, while they were both active in the Kerala Students Union and he married her after a brief courtship. Mercy Ravi died on 5 September 2009 following a kidney failure, aged 64.^[4]

In February 2010, Vayalar Ravi along with Indian Ambassador Shamma Jain were injured in a car accident in Monrovia, Liberia, while on an official visit to African countries.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Biographical sketch at Rajya Sabha website.
^ ^a ^b ^c "New Minister for NRI affairs", nriol.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Profile at Ravi website Archived 9 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "Vayalar Ravi's wife passes away". The Times of India. 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
^ "Vyalar Ravi out of danger after accident in Liberia". The Times of India. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2010.

External links

Lok Sabha
Preceded by K. Anirudhan	Member of Parliament for Attingal 1971 – 1980	Succeeded by A. A. Rahim
Political offices
Preceded by Oscar Fernandes	Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs 2006 - 2014	Succeeded by Sushma Swaraj
Preceded by Praful Patel MoS, Independent Charge	Minister of Civil Aviation 19 January 2011 - 18 December 2011	Succeeded by Ajit Singh
Preceded by Vilasrao Deshmukh	Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 14 August 2012 - 28 October 2012	Succeeded by K. H. Muniyappa MoS, Independent Charge
Preceded by Vilasrao Deshmukh	Minister of Earth Sciences 10 August 2012 - 28 October 2012	Succeeded by Jaipal Reddy
Preceded by Vilasrao Deshmukh	Minister of Science and Technology 14 August 2012 - 28 October 2012	Succeeded by Jaipal Reddy

[Sketch-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Biographical sketch at Rajya Sabha website.

[Nriol-2] "New Minister for NRI affairs", nriol.com.

[Ravi-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Profile at Ravi website Archived 9 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine.

[4] "Vayalar Ravi's wife passes away". The Times of India. 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.

[5] "Vyalar Ravi out of danger after accident in Liberia". The Times of India. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2010.

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