Jayanti Patnaik (7 April 1932 – 28 September 2022) was an Indian politician and social worker.

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

She was the first Chairperson of the

National Commission for Women The National Commission for Women (NCW) is the statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the I ...

. Her term of office was from 3 February 1992 to 30 January 1995.

Early life and education

She was born in 1932 in Aska, Ganjam district of Orissa. Her father is Niranjan Patnaik. She was educated at Harihar High School, Aska. She has studied

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(M.A.) in Social Work from Sailabala Women's College under

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

, Cuttack. She pursued advanced studies at

Tata Institute of Social Sciences Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a multi-campus public research university in Mumbai, India. It is Asia's oldest institute for professional social work education and was founded in 1936 in then Bombay Presidency of British India as ...

, Mumbai. She married politician

Janaki Ballabh Patnaik Janaki Ballabh Patnaik (3 January 1927 – 21 April 2015) was an Indian politician who had been Governor of Assam from 2009 to 2014. A leader of the Indian National Congress, he was Chief Minister of Odisha from 1980 to 1989 and again from 1995 ...

in 1953, who later remained

Chief Minister of Odisha The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Followin ...

(1980–89), and the couple had one son and two daughters.

References

1932 births 2022 deaths India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1998–1999 Rajya Sabha members from Odisha Women in Odisha politics People from Ganjam district Utkal University alumni Indian National Congress politicians from Odisha Lok Sabha members from Odisha 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians People from Cuttack Women members of the Lok Sabha Women members of the Rajya Sabha {{Odisha-INC-politician-stub