- Suresh Kalmadi
Suresh Rao Kalmadi (born
May 1 ,1944 ,Pune ,Maharashtra ) is anIndia n politician and businessman. He is a member of theIndian National Congress political party. He is the president of theIndian Olympic Association ,Asian Athletics Association , andAthletics Federation of India [http://164.100.47.134/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=3697 Biography of Suresh Kalmadi on the Lok Sabha website] . Website accessed on July 27, 2008] .Early Life and Military Service
Suresh Kalmadi studied at
St. Vincent's High School , Pune, and then atFergusson College , Pune. In 1960, he joined the National Defence Academy, Pune, and in 1964, he joined theAir Force Flying Colleges inJodhpur andAllahabad . He served in theIndian Air Force from 1965 to 1974 as a pilot, and participated in the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971 [http://www.skalmadi.org http://www.skalmadi.org] . Website accessed on July 27, 2008] .Political Career
In 1977, Kalmadi became the president of the
Indian Youth Congress , Pune, and was the president of the Indian Youth Congress, Maharashtra, from 1978-1980. He was a member of theRajya Sabha for three terms from 1982 to 1995, and again in 1998. He was also elected to the11th Lok Sabha in 1996, and to the14th Lok Sabha in 2004. During the tenure ofP. V. Narasimha Rao as thePrime Minister of India , Suresh Kalmadi served as the Minister of State for Railways from 1995 to 1996.Presently, he's the Head of Indian Olympics Association.
Controversies
During the felicitation ceremony that had been arranged to honor the three Indian medalists at the
2008 Summer Olympics , Kalmadi reportedly walked out because he had not been offered a chair next to theVice-President of India Hamid Ansari [http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/sep/05guest.htm This is not on, Mr Suresh Kalmadi.] Mahesh Vijapurkar. Rediff.com. Website accessed on September 19, 2008.]Business Interests
Suresh Kalmadi is associated with Sai Service, one of the largest dealerships of
Maruti andBajaj passenger vehicles in India.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
