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Somnath Chatterjee

The Right Honourable
Somnath Chatterjee
14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
In office
4 June 2004 – 16 May 2009
Deputy Charanjit Singh Atwal
Preceded by Manohar Joshi
Succeeded by Meira Kumar
Member of Parliament
for Bolpur, West Bengal
In office
1985–2009
Preceded by Saradish Roy
Succeeded by Dr Ram Chandra Dome
Member of Parliament
for Jadavpur, West Bengal
In office
1977–1984
Preceded by Mohammad Elias
Succeeded by Mamata Banerjee
Member of Parliament
for Bardhaman, West Bengal
In office
1971–1977
Preceded by N.C.Chatterjee
Personal details
Born (1929-07-25) 25 July 1929 (age 87)
Tezpur, Assam
Political party CPI-M (1968-2008) (Expelled)
Spouse(s) Renu Chatterjee
Children 1 son and 2 daughters
Residence Kolkata
Alma mater University of Calcutta
University of Cambridge
Profession Lawyer
Religion Hinduism
Signature
As of 17 September, 2006
Source: [1]

Somnath Chatterjee (born 25 July 1929) is an Indian politician who had been associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he is currently an independent. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) from 2004 to 2009.

Born in Tezpur, Assam, his father, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, was a prominent lawyer, intellectual, and Hindu revivalist and nationalist around the time of India's independence, and his mother, Binapani Debi ran the home. Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee was one of the founders and one-time president of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. In 1948, when the Communist Party of India was banned by the Jawaharlal Nehru led Indian National Congress government in India, and its party leaders arrested, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee formed the All India Civil Liberties Union, and agitated for their release. In the process, he came close to Jyoti Basu, in spite of continuing ideological political differences between the two.

Somnath was educated at Mitra Institution School, Presidency College and then the University of Calcutta in Calcutta. He also attended Jesus College, Cambridge and graduating with a B.A. in 1952 and a M.A. in 1957, both in law, has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the college in 2007. He was called to the bar from the Middle Temple in London and took up legal practice as an advocate at the Calcutta High Court before joining active politics.


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