Agatha Kongkal Sangma (born 24 July 1980) is an Indian politician serving as a

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of a legislative constituency in the Lok Sabha; the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of parliament of Lok Sabha are chosen by direct Elections in I ...

representing the Tura constituency of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

. At the age of 29, she is the youngest member of parliament ever in India to be appointed Union Minister in Government of India till date. Sangma is also the first woman from

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

to be appointed a union minister in the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. She is a member of National People's Party.

Early and personal life

Agatha Sangma was born in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

P. A. Sangma Purno Agitok Sangma (1 September 1947 – 4 March 2016) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990 and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998. He was the candidate for the 2012 Indian presidentia ...

, the former

speaker of the Lok Sabha The speaker of the Lok Sabha (IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest official of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general el ...

, and Soradini K. Sangma. She was brought up in

West Garo Hills West Garo Hills is an administrative district in Garo Hills of the state of Meghalaya in India. Tura town is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 3714 km². In 2011 its population was 643,291. As ...

. Fifteenth Lok Sabha: Members Bioprofile: Agatha Sangma

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

website. Her brother

Conrad Sangma Conrad Kongkal Sangma (born 27 January 1978) is an Indian politician who is the 12th and current Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He assumed presidency of the National People's Party in 2016 after the death of his father who was former Chief Minis ...

is the Chief Minister in the Meghalaya State Assembly. Agatha married Dr. Patrick Rongma Marak on 21 November 2019.

Education

She received her

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

degree from

Pune University Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

and later joined the bar in

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...

. She did her master's degree in

environmental management Environmental resource management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims ...

at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

, UK.

Career

Sangma was first elected to the

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nationa ...

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in May 2008, after her father P.A. Sangma resigned from the seat to enter state politics. Later she was re elected to

15th Lok Sabha Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee. Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance won 44 more seats than the previou ...

. At age 29, Sangma is the youngest

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

ever to be appointed Union Minister in Government of India till date. Sangma was

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for

Rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of l ...

. She resigned from this post during the cabinet reshuffle in October 2012. Agatha Sangma is a lawyer, an

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

. It was reported in November 2017 that she would contest the

2018 Meghalaya legislative assembly election The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election was held on 27 February 2018 to elect 59 of 60 members to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, with the results declared on 3 March. The scheduled election in Williamnagar constituency was delayed to a ...

on a National People's Party (NPP) ticket. She contested from the South Tura constituency and polled 6,499 votes winning the seat. But she submitted her resignation as member of the House in an attempt to pave way for her brother to contest the bypoll from her constituency.https://thenortheasttoday.com/meghalaya-mla-agatha-sangma-resigns-to-make-way-for-brother-conrad-sangma/amp/?

References

External links

Agatha K. Sangma Profile
at india.gov.in 1980 births Living people India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 People from Tura, Meghalaya Union ministers of state of India Nationalist Congress Party politicians from Meghalaya Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Alumni of the University of Nottingham Women in Meghalaya politics Lok Sabha members from Meghalaya Indian environmentalists National People's Party (India) politicians 21st-century Indian lawyers 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Women union ministers of state of India Indian women environmentalists Activists from Meghalaya Meghalaya MLAs 2018–2023 India MPs 2019–present Women members of the Lok Sabha 21st-century Indian women lawyers Garo people {{Meghalaya-politician-stub

Early and personal life

Education

Career

See also

References

External links