Navin Chawla
| Navin Chawla | |
|---|---|
| Chief Election Commissioner of India | |
|
In office 21 April 2009 – 29 July 2010 |
|
| President | Pratibha Patil |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | N. Gopalaswami |
| Succeeded by | S. Y. Quraishi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 July 1945 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater |
University of Delhi London School of Economics |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Navin Chawla is a retired Indian civil servant and writer, who served as Chief Election Commissioner of India. Four phases (out of five) of the Indian general election to Loksabha were executed under his supervision in April and May 2009.
Chawla is best known for his biography of Mother Teresa and for conducting the 2009 general elections in an even-handed manner to national and international acclaim. President Obama and several world leaders congratulated India for this election. Despite concerns about his leanings towards the Congress Party Chawla conducted these in an even-handed manner, with action taken against alleged malpractice by Congress governments in Rajasthan, Assam and Andhra Pradesh and the Congress-allied government in Tamil Nadu. According to his family, Chawla was deeply influenced by Mother Teresa and decided not to resign from the civil service in 1997 in accordance with her advice.
Chawla was born on 30 July 1945 in New Delhi. He studied at the Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh from 1953 to 1961 (when he received his Senior School Certificate), and received a Government of India scholarship for his first two years at the Lawrence School. Chawla received a B.A. (Hons.) in history from St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1966 and a B.A. (Hons.) in history from London University in 1967. He received a diploma in social administration from the London School of Economics in 1968. Chawla was appointed a Fellow of Queen Elizabeth House at Oxford University in 1996.
Chawla is an Indian Administrative Service officer from the class of 1969. He had a distinguished career and rose to the highest rank of Secretary to the Government of India. He served as a magistrate in the Union Territory of Delhi for several years. He was appointed the first Chairman of the Delhi Vidyut (Electricity )Board. Details of posts. He was appointed Election Commissioner in 2005, succeeding B. B. Tandon (who was promoted to Chief Election Commissioner of India). Chawla was appointed India's 16th Chief Election Commissioner on 21 April 2009. He conducted the General Election of 2009 to widespread acclaim. His association with Mother Teresa resulted in his writing her official biography, Mother Teresa.
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