Former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna who has also been India’s External Affairs Minister and Maharashtra Governor, has passed away at the age of 92, in Bengaluru. SM Krishna has also been the recipient of Padma Vibhushan. He breathed his last at 3 AM this morning at his residence in Bangalore. He had been suffering from age-related health issues and had been hospitalised on and off for the past few months.
“S M Krishna is no more. He breathed his last at 2:45 am at his residence. Mortal remains are likely to be taken to Maddur today”, according to the media reports. Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna is survived by wife Prema and two daughters. Born in Somanahalli in Karnataka’s Mandya district on May 1, 1932, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna started his career in electoral politics in 1962 by winning the Maddur assembly seat as an independent. He was then associated with the Praja Socialist Party before joining the Congress.
Later, he joined the BJP in March 2017, ending his nearly 50-year-long association with the Congress. In January last year, Krishna announced that he was retiring from active politics, citing his age as the reason. He was the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka from October 11, 1999, to May 28, 2004, (from Congress). He also served as the Governor of Maharashtra and was the External Affairs Minister during the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2009 to 2012.
A law graduate, Krishna studied in the US. He graduated from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and The George Washington University Law School in Washington DC, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.
Krishna served as the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from December 1989 to January 1993. He was also a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha several times between 1971 and 2014.
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