P. V. Narasimha Rao

Union Minister of DefenceIn office
6 March 1993 – 16 May 1996Prime MinisterHimselfPreceded byShankarrao ChavanSucceeded byPramod MahajanIn office
31 December 1984 – 25 September 1985Prime MinisterRajiv GandhiPreceded byRajiv GandhiSucceeded byShankarrao ChavanUnion Minister of External AffairsIn office
31 March 1992 – 18 January 1994Prime MinisterHimselfPreceded byMadhavsinh SolankiSucceeded byDinesh SinghIn office
25 June 1988 – 2 December 1989Prime MinisterRajiv GandhiPreceded byRajiv GandhiSucceeded byV. P. SinghIn office
14 January 1980 – 19 July 1984Prime MinisterIndira GandhiPreceded byShyam Nandan Prasad MishraSucceeded byIndira GandhiUnion Minister of Home AffairsIn office
12 March 1986 – 12 May 1986Prime MinisterRajiv GandhiPreceded byShankarrao ChavanSucceeded bySardar Buta SinghIn office
19 July 1984 – 31 December 1984Prime MinisterPreceded byPrakash Chandra SethiSucceeded byShankarrao ChavanChief Minister of Andhra PradeshIn office
30 September 1971 – 10 January 1973GovernorKhandubhai Kasanji DesaiPreceded byKasu Brahmananda ReddySucceeded byPresident's rule
Jalagam Vengala RaoMember of Parliament, Lok SabhaIn office
15 May 1996 – 4 December 1997Preceded byGopinath GajapatiSucceeded byJayanti PatnaikConstituencyBrahmapur, OdishaIn office
20 June 1991 – 10 May 1996Preceded byGangula Prathapa ReddySucceeded byBhuma Nagi ReddyConstituencyNandyal, Andhra PradeshIn office
31 December 1984 – 13 March 1991Preceded byBarve Jatiram ChitaramSucceeded byTejsinghrao BhosleConstituencyRamtek, MaharashtraIn office
23 March 1977 – 31 December 1984Preceded byConstituency establishedSucceeded byChendupatla Janga ReddyConstituencyHanamkonda, Andhra PradeshMember of Andhra Pradesh Legislative AssemblyIn office
1957–1977Preceded byGulukota SriramuluSucceeded byChandrupatla Narayana ReddyConstituencyManthaniPersonal detailsBorn(1921-06-28)28 June 1921
Died23 December 2004(2004-12-23) (aged 83)
PartyIndian National CongressSpouseChildren8, including P. V. Ranga Rao, P. V. Rajeshwar Rao and Surabhi Vani DeviEducationOccupationBharat RatnaSignature

Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and politician from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first person from South India and the second person from a non-Hindi speaking background to be prime minister. He is known for his role in initiating India's economic liberalisation following an economic crisis in 1991, a process that has been sustained and expanded by every successive prime minister of the country.

Prior to his premiership, he served as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and later also held high-order portfolios of the union government, such as Defence, Home Affairs and External Affairs. In 1991 Indian general election, the Indian National Congress led by him, won 244 seats, and thereafter, he, along with external support from other parties, formed a minority government with him being the prime minister.As prime minister, Rao adopted to avert the impending 1991 economic crisis, the reforms progressed furthest in the areas of opening up to foreign investment, reforming capital markets, deregulating domestic business, and reforming the trade regime. Trade reforms and changes in the regulation of foreign direct investment were introduced to open India to foreign trade while stabilising external loans.

In 2024, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, by the government of India. In 2025, his portrait was unveiled at Raj Bhavan on the eve of his birth anniversary by the Governor of Telangana Jishnu Dev Varma.