K. K. Shailaja (born 20 November 1956) is an Indian politician and former

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

who hails from Kannur district. Shailaja currently serves as the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

(MLA) representing Mattanur constituency in 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. She is a Central Committee member of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...

. Before entering active politics, she worked as a high school physics teacher. In June(2020), Shailaja was honoured by the United Nations for her efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. She was among a few of the world leaders invited to speak on the occasion of the United Nations Public Service Day. K. K. Shailaja was awarded the CEU Open Society Prize for 2021. She was previously elected as the MLA of Kuthuparamba constituency twice in 1996 and 2016 and Peravoor constituency in 2006. She served as the Minister of Health, Social Justice and Woman and Child Development (Kerala) in the

first Vijayan ministry First Pinarayi Vijayan ministry is the Council of Ministers headed by Pinarayi Vijayan that was formed after the Left Democratic Front (Kerala), Left Democratic Front (LDF) won the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections. The Council assumed ...

(2016 – 2021). But In the

2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held in Kerala on 6 April 2021 to elect 140 members to the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. The results were declared on 2 May. The election saw the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) reta ...

, Shailaja won the largest margin ever (over 60,000 votes) in the history of Kerala Legislative Assembly elections.

Early life

Shailaja was born on 20 November 1956 to K. Kunthan and K. K. Shantha.

Political career

K. K. Shailaja has been elected as

CPI (M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the nat ...

Central Committee Member in the 22nd Congress of the CPI(M) held between April 18 and 22 2018 at Hyderabad, Telangana and the State Secretary of All India Democratic Women's Association. She represented Kuthuparamba in 1996 and

Peravoor Peravoor is a small town and Grama Panchayat in Kannur district of Kerala state in India. It is located east of Kannur and north east of Thalassery. And Iritty, the nearest municipality is north of Peravoor. Peravoor is situated in the Wes ...

in 2006, both of which are in Kannur district, in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Shailaja won a total of 67,013 votes in the Kuthuparamba constituency, winning by a margin of 12,291 votes. In the first

Pinarayi Vijayan Pinarayi Vijayan (; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian Communist politician who is the current Chief Minister of Kerala, serving since 25 May 2016. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he is the longest-serving sec ...

ministry, she was the minister of Health and Social Welfare. As Health Minister, Shailaja Teacher has come to be highly regarded for her unwavering commitment and strong work ethic. As quoted from one of her colleagues in the Health Department: "She is a tough taskmaster. It doesn't matter if it's midnight or if she is having any ailments, the minister is there to monitor every arrangement. In the case of nCoV prevention and control, the minister is leading from the front by convening assessment meetings daily," Her leadership during the

Nipah NIPA, Nipa or nipah may refer to: * Shamim Ara Nipa, Bangladeshi dancer and choreographer * Nipa hut, a type of stilt house indigenous to the cultures of the Philippines * Nipah virus, a Henipavirus NIPA * National Income and Product Accounts ...

and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

outbreaks was widely lauded. She had set up a team which enabled the fast diagnosis and further management of the deadly viruses. The film ''

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

'' is based on the Nipah virus outbreak in the state. In this film

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films. She has won several ...

portrayed the character based on her. K. K. Shailaja has received international attention for her leadership in tackling

pandemic in Kerala. Till around mid-March, she gave daily press briefings. She was invited by 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 harmoniz ...

to participate in a panel discussion on United Nations Public Service Day 2020, for her efforts to fight

in her state on June 23, 2020.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

described her as "coronavirus slayer" and "rock star health minister".

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

featured her among a list of Asian women corona fighters. She was also featured by

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

Magazine as a "Vogue Warrior". The British magazine Prospect selected her as the world's 'top thinker' of 2020, pushing the Prime Minister of New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

to the 2nd position. Financial Times named Shailaja as one of the world's most influential women of 2020. Her exclusion in the

second Vijayan ministry Second Pinarayi Vijayan Ministry is the Council of Ministers headed by Pinarayi Vijayan that was formed after winning in the 15th legislative assembly elections by bagging 99 of the 140 seats in the Assembly. The Council assumed office on 20 Ma ...

, which includes all debutants except chief minister, was a subject of controversy in media outlets and in social media.

Personal life

She has authored two books: ''Indian Varthamanavum Sthreesamoohavum'' and ''China: Rashtram, Rashtreeyam, Kazhchakal''.

Electoral performance

Awards and honours

In June 2020, Shailaja was honoured by the United Nations for her efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. She was among a few of the world leaders invited to speak on the occasion of the United Nations Public Service Day. K. K. Shailaja was awarded the Central European University (CEU) Open Society Prize for 2021, the honour was in recognition of her social commitment to public health services.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shailaja, KK 1956 births Living people Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala People from Kannur district Women in Kerala politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian politicians