Born on March 15, 1943 in village Mundka in Delhi, Sahib Singh Verma rose from the ranks of academics to politics. He was counted among the most influential Jat leaders in northern India.
His following in Delhi could not be ignored even by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and he had
to be accommodated in the Union council of ministers by Prime Minister Vajpayee.
An educationist by profession Verma, remained a teacher from 1974 to 1989 despite remaining active in politics. He gave up teaching following his election to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999.
Between 1977 and 1989, he served as councillor to the Metropolitan Council in Delhi. He was elected to the Delhi legislative assembly between 1993 and 1998. In 1996 he succeeded senior BJP leader Madanlal Khurana as the Chief Minister of Delhi.
Mr Verma was inducted into the Union cabinet by Prime Minister Vajpayee in 2002 and has since served as the Union Labour Minister.