Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander (20 March 1921 – 10 August 2011) was an

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the India ...

officer of 1948 batch who served as the

Governor of Tamil Nadu The governor of Tamil Nadu is the head of state of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The governors have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the president of India at central level. They exist in the state appointed by th ...

from 1988 to 1990 and as the

Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor, however the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Ministers. Bhagat ...

from 1993 to 2002. He was considered as a candidate for the post of the

President of India The president of India (IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu i ...

in 2002. During his time in Maharashtra, he had additional charge of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

from 1996 to 1998. He was also a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using ...

representing Maharashtra as an independent candidate from 29 July 2002 to 2 April 2008. His career included extended stints with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

and India's Ministry of Commerce and his high-profile appointment as the powerful

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India (PS to the PM) is the senior-most bureaucrat in, and the administrative head of, the Prime Minister's Office. The officeholder is generally a civil servant, commonly from the Indian Adminis ...

during his years with

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. He also served as the Indian High Commissioner to the Court of St. James's. His autobiography is ''Through the Corridors of Power''. His other works include ''My years with Indira Gandhi'', ''The Perils of Democracy'', and ''India in the New Millennium''.

Family history, early life and background

P.C. Alexander studied at Bishop Hodges Higher Secondary School, and gained his post-graduate degree in History and Economics from the

University of Travancore University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Ch ...

(now

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Ch ...

). During this period he also remained President, Travancore University Students Union.

Career

Alexander started his career as a civil servant in 1948 and held several high positions. He also involved himself in public life. Alexander was the principal secretary to Indira Gandhi and virtually served as her shadow and policy adviser for the years after her return to power in January 1980. He briefly served Rajiv Gandhi but the latter was not very comfortable with his paternal style and had him replaced. He was sent as India's

High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom is the head of the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom. The High Commission is located at India House in London. History In 1919, a committee chaired by the Marquess of Crewe de ...

(1985-1987). He died in Chennai at the age of 90.

Bibliography

* ''My Years with Indira Gandhi'' by P. C. Alexander,

Orient Paperbacks The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

References

External links

An interviewAn interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, P. C. 1921 births 2011 deaths Governors of Goa Governors of Maharashtra Governors of Tamil Nadu Malayali politicians Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra People from Alappuzha district Annamalai University alumni High Commissioners of India to the United Kingdom Indian autobiographers Deaths from cancer in India Alexander, P. C. Indian Oriental Orthodox Christians Indian Administrative Service officers from Kerala