Oscar Fernandes

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Oscar Fernandes
Shri Oscar Fernandes assumes the charge of the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation in New Delhi on May 24, 2004.jpg
Fernandes in 2004
Director of The Young Indian
In office
22 January 2011 – 13 September 2021
Director of The Associated Journals Private Limited
In office
17 June 2010 – 13 September 2021
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
1 July 1998 – 13 September 2021
ConstituencyKarnataka
Minister for Road Transport and Highways
In office
17 June 2013 – 26 May 2014
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byC. P. Joshi
Succeeded byNitin Gadkari
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
18 January 1980 – 10 May 1996
Preceded byT. A. Pai
Succeeded byI. M. Jayarama Shetty
ConstituencyUdupi
Personal details
Born(1941-03-27)27 March 1941
Udupi, Madras Presidency, British India
(now in Karnataka, India)
Died13 September 2021(2021-09-13) (aged 80)[1]
Mangalore, Karnataka, India
NationalityIndian
Political partyIndian National Congress
Spouse(s)Blossom Fernandes
Children2
ResidenceDoris Rest Haven, Ambalpady, Udupi.

Dr. Oscar Fernandes (27 March 1941 – 13 September 2021) was an Indian politician, a senior Indian National Congress leader and was the Union Cabinet Minister for Transport, Road and Highways and Labour and Employment, Government of India in UPA government. He was one of the closest confidants of the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and one of the major leaders in the taking of important decisions of Congress Party.

Political life and career[]

Fernandes was the Chairman of Central Election Authority of the All India Congress Committee. He was previously the AICC General Secretary, the Minister of State (Independent charge) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Dr. Manmohan Singh's first UPA government in India. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to Rajiv Gandhi.

He was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980 from Udupi constituency in Karnataka. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984, 1989, 1991 and 1996 from the same constituency. Later, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1998. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2004. He was a Union Minister from 2004 to 2009, holding a number of portfolios such as Statistics and Programme Implementation, NRI Affairs, Youth and Sports Affairs and Labour and Employment.[2] He served two terms as a member of the Council of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Personal life[]

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, then President of India, administering the oath as Minister of State (Independent Charge) to Fernandes at a Swearing-in Ceremony in New Delhi, May 22, 2004.

Oscar was born to Roque Fernandes, the head of Government Composite PU College and the first President of Manipal Institute of Technology and Leonissa M. Fernandes, the first female magistrate in India, at the family estate at Udupi. Fernandes was one of 12 children in his family, and grew up with a strong Catholic background. As a child he was an altar boy, and as a youth he was active in Church activities. His family belongs to the Fernandes-Prabhu clan, a Mangalorean Catholic clan from Udyavara in Udupi district.[3] He married Blossom Mathias Prabhu on 26 August 1981 and had one son Oshan and one daughter Oshanie. His son Oshan is married to Frazil Quadros and Oscar's daughter Oshanie is married to Mark Saldanha.[4] In 2002 Fernandes inaugurated the Glowinstar Academy, an integrated development school, in Ambalpady, dedicated to his father, Roque.

Death[]

Fernandes died on 13 September 2021 at the age of 80, due to age related ailments at Yenepoya hospital in Mangalore.[5] He was undergoing treatment there since 19 July, after suffering a clot in brain due to a fall at his home.

Citations[]

  1. ^ "Congress veteran and former Union minister Oscar Fernandes passes away". Vinobha K T. The Times of India. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Congress leader and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes passes away at 80". Business Line. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  3. ^ Lobo 2000, p. 250
  4. ^ Alva, H R (16 September 2021). "Oscar Fernandes: A Noble Leader". Daijiworld Media. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ Shantanu, Shashank (13 September 2021). "Oscar Fernandes, senior Congress leader, passes away in Mangaluru". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 14 September 2021.

References[]

  • Lobo, Michael (2000). Distinguished Mangalorean Catholics, 1800–2000: a historico-biographical survey of the Mangalorean Catholic community. Camelot Publishers. ISBN 978-81-87609-01-8..

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Road Transport and Highways
17 June 2013 – 25 May 2014 		Succeeded by
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