Jaswant Singh

A Union minister for more than five years now, Jaswant Singh has been one of the most prominent political figures ever since the BJP took office.

A Union minister for more than five years now, Jaswant Singh has been one of the most prominent political figures ever since the BJP took office. Believed to be close to Vajpayee, he became the External Affairs minister in December 1998 and oversaw tremendous improvement in ties with Washington, but a marked decline in relations with Pakistan from the post-Gujral days (including the Kargil war and the militarisation along the border).

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He took over as Finance minister in July 2002, and has really pressed the accelerator on liberalisation of trade laws since. In these five years, he has also taken simultaneous charge of Defence, Electronics and Surface Transport for brief periods. He ranks among the top 10 ministers of the Vajpayee cabinet, according to an ORG-MARG survey.

A former armyman, he first joined Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member in 1980. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha thrice since, but is now back in the Rajya Sabha as Leader of the House. During this period, he has served as deputy chairman of the Planning Commission (March 1998 - Feb 1999), chairman of the Estimates Committee, the Environment and Forest Committee and the Committee on Energy, and has been a member of the Executive Committee of Indian Parliamentary Board.

Born to humble beginnings in 1938 in Rajasthan's Barmer district, he joined the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy as an officer cadet before becoming a commissioned officer. But he resigned his commission to join politics. He has written extensively on international affairs, defence, environment and wildlife. His hobbies include horse-riding, reading, music, golf and chess. He has a wife and two sons.