Niramala Sitharaman taking oath as the Defence Minister of India on Sunday. (Express Photo: Neeraj Priyadarshini)
Nirmala Sitharaman was on Sunday appointed as the new Defence Minister of the country, succeeding Arun Jaitley to the post. She was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier in the day. The 58-year-old became the second woman to assume the charge of the Defence Ministry as former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had also held the portfolio in the seventies.
Reflecting on her appointment, Sitharaman stresssed that it is a huge responsibility and credited her elevation to the cabinet to “cosmic grace”. “I am just overwhelmed and humbled. I can serve the country with something which is constantly on the top of my mind,” she said. This will also be the first time when there are two women in the Cabinet Committee on Security (Nirmala Sitharaman as the Defence Minister and Sushma Swaraj as Minister of External Affairs).
Nirmala Sitharaman will take charge from Arun Jaitley who held the double portfolios of Finance and Defence. Sitharaman was earlier at the helm of Commerce ministry in Modi cabinet.
Here is a list of all the Defence Ministers since Independence.
Baldev Singh – Indian National Congress – September 2, 1947 to 1952
N. Gopal Swamy Ayangar – Indian National Congress – 1952 to 1953
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (PM) – Indian National Congress – 1953 to 1955
Kailash Nath Katju – Indian National Congress – 1955 to 1957
Pandit Jawaharlal NehrU (PM) – Indian National Congress – 1957 to 1957
V. K. Krishna Menon – Indian National Congress – 1957 to 1962
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (PM) – Indian National Congress – 1962 to 1962
Yashwantrao Chavan – Indian National Congress – 1962 to 1966
Sardar Swaran Singh – Indian National Congress – 1966 to 1970
Jagjivan Ram – Indian National Congress – 1970 to 1974
Sardar Swaran Singh – Indian National Congress – 1974 to 1975
Indira Gandhi – Indian National Congress – 1975 to 1975
Bansi Lal – Indian National Congress – Decemeber 21, 1975 to March 24, 1977
Jagjivan Ram – Janata Party – March 24, 1977 to July 28, 1979
Chidambaram Subramaniam – Janata Party – July 28, 1979 to January 14, 1980
Indira Gandhi (PM) – Indian National Congress – January 14, 1980 to 1982
R. Venkataraman – Indian National Congress – 1982 to 1984
Shankarrao Chavan – Indian National Congress – 1984 to 1984
P. V. Narasimha Rao – Indian National Congress – 1985 to 1985
Rajiv Gandhi (PM) – Indian National Congress – 1985 to 1987
V. P. Singh – Indian National Congress – 1987 to 1987
K. C. Pant – Indian National Congress – 1987 to 1989
V. P. Singh (PM) – Janata Dal – Decemeber 2, 1989 to November 10, 1990
Chandra Shekhar (PM) – Samajwadi Janata Party – November 10, 1990 to June 20, 1991
P.V Narsimha Rao (PM) – Indian National Congress – June 21, 1991 to June 15, 1991
Sharad Pawar – Indian National Congress – June 26, 1991 to March 6, 1993
P.V Narsimha Rao – Indian National Congress – March 6, 1993 to May 16, 1996
Pramod Mahajan – Bharatiya Janata Party – May 17, 1996 to May 31, 1996
Mulayam Singh Yadav – Samajwadi Party – June 1, 1996 to March 19, 1998
George Fernandes – Samata Party – March 19, 1998 to March 3, 2001
Jaswant Singh – Bharatiya Janata Party – 2001 to 2001
George Fernandes – Samata Party – October 15, 2001 to May 22, 2004
Pranab Mukherjee – Indian National Congress – May 23, 2004 to October 24, 2006
A.K. Anthony – Indian National Congress – October 25, 2006 to May 26, 2014
Arun Jaitley – Bharatiya Janata Party – May 27, 2014 to Novermeber 8, 2014
Manohar Parrikar – Bharatiya Janata Party – November 9, 2014 to March 13, 2017
Arun Jaitley – Bharatiya Janata Party – March 14, 2017 to Septmeber 3, 2017
Nirmala Sitharaman – Bharatiya Janata Party – Septmber 3, 2017 to incumbent
