Ambika Soni (born 13 November 1942) is an Indian politician belonging to

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. She had served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. She was a

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 o ...

representing the state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

in 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 si ...

Early life and education

Born in Lahore in undivided

to Nakul Sen Wadhwa, an

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

officer and Lt. Governor of Goa in 1942. Ambika studied at Welham Girls School, Dehradun and did her M.A. (Hons.) from

Indraprastha College Indraprastha College for Women, also known as Indraprastha College or IP College ( hi, इंद्रप्रस्थ महिला महाविद्यालय), is the oldest women's college in Delhi. Established in 1924, it is a con ...

, Delhi University, followed by Diploma Superiore en Langue Francaise from Alliance Francaise, Bangkok and Post-Graduate Diploma in Spanish Art and Literature from University of Havana,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. She got married in 1961 to Uday Soni, an

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...

officer.

Political career

As Member of
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

Ambika Soni began her political career in 1969 when she was co-opted into the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Party by Indira Gandhi at the time of the Party split in 1969. Soni was an old family friend of Gandhi from the time when her father was posted as District collector of Amritsar during the Partition of India and worked very closely with

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. In 1975 she was elected as the president of the Indian Youth Congress and worked closely with

Sanjay Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi (14 December 1946 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician and the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was a member of parliament, Lok Sabha and the Nehru–Gandhi family. During his lifetime, he was widely expected ...

. In 1998, she became the president of All India Mahila Congress. From 1999 - 2006 she was General Secretary of All India Congress Committee.

As
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha ( abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elect ...

Following is from th
official website of Rajya Sabha

First Term (March 1976 - March 1982)

Second Term (January 2000 - 10 June 2004)

Third Term (July 2004 - July 2010)

Fourth Term (July 2010 - July 2016)

Fifth Term (July 2016 - July 2022)

As Cabinet Minister

References

External links

Profile
at

National Portal of India India.gov.in is the Indian government’s web portal for citizens. It presents information resources and online services from government sources, accessible from a single point. It is also known as the National Portal of India. This is the offi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soni, Ambika 1942 births Indian National Congress politicians from Punjab, India Living people Indraprastha College for Women alumni Members of the Cabinet of India Indian Youth Congress Presidents Rajya Sabha members from Punjab, India Women in Punjab, India politics People from Lahore 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Women members of the Cabinet of India Ministers for Information and Broadcasting of India Women members of the Rajya Sabha Indian National Congress (U) politicians Culture Ministers of India Indian Congress (Socialist) politicians