His Excellency Vakkom Purushothaman
Purushothaman (center) in 2012
9th Governor of Mizoram
In office 2 September 2011 (2011-09-02)[1] – 6 July 2014 (2014-07-06)
Chief Minister	Lal Thanhawla
Preceded by	Madan Mohan Lakhera
Succeeded by	Kamla Beniwal
14th Governor of Tripura
In office 30 June 2014 (2014-06-30) – 14 July 2014 (2014-07-14)
Chief Minister	Manik Sarkar
Preceded by	Devanand Konwar
Succeeded by	Padmanabha Acharya
Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office 2001–2004 1982–1984
Minister of Finance and Excise, Government of Kerala
In office 2004–2006
6th Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In office 19 March 1993 (1993-03-19) – 18 March 1996 (1996-03-18)
Preceded by	Surjit Singh Barnala
Succeeded by	Ishwari Prasad Gupta
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 1984–1991
Preceded by	Susheela Gopalan
Succeeded by	T. J. Anjalose
Constituency	Alappuzha
Minister of Health and Tourism, Government of Kerala
In office 1980–1981
Minister of Agriculture and Labour, Government of Kerala
In office 1971–1977
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office 2001–2006
Preceded by	Anathalavattom Anandan
Succeeded by	Anathalavattom Anandan
Constituency	Attingal
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
In office 1970–1984
Preceded by	K. P. K. Das
Succeeded by	P. Vijayadas
Constituency	Attingal
Personal details
Born	(1928-04-12)12 April 1928 Vakkom, Kingdom of Travancore, British India (present-day Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India)
Died	31 July 2023(2023-07-31) (aged 95) Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Dr. Lily Purushothaman
Children	3

Vakkom B. Purushothaman (12 April 1928 – 31 July 2023) was an Indian politician who served as the Governor of Mizoram from 2011 to 2014, Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, state minister and Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Vakkom B. Purushothaman was born at Vakkom near Trivandrum, the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore, on 12 April 1928, as the eldest son of Bhanu Panicker and Bhavani. He was also the grandson of Pappu Tharakan, a notable businessman in Travancore.^[2]

He started his political life as an active worker of the Students' Congress (now called Kerala Students Union) in 1946, he became a member of Vakkom Panchayat in 1953. Later, he served as President of the District Congress Committee, Thiruvananthapuram and the General Secretary and Vice–President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. He has been a member of All India Congress Committee for over 35 years.^[3]

Political life

Vakkom Purushothaman was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980 and 1982 from Attingal constituency. From 1971 to 1977, he held the portfolio of Agriculture and Labour in the Ministry headed by C. Achutha Menon. From 1980 to 1981, he was the Minister for Health and Tourism in the Nayanar Ministry.^[4] He served as Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1984 and then served for two terms as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, 1984–1991 representing Alappuzha constituency, during which time he was also Chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings and the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of Parliament. He was the Chairman of the Consultative Committee of Experts to the Inter Parliamentary Union for five years.^[5][6]

From 1993 to 1996, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 1996, he lost in the Kerala Legislative Assembly election from Attingal constituency. He was elected from Attingal in 2001 and became the Speaker for a second time, holding office from 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he was made the Minister for Finance and Excise in the Oommen Chandy led UDF government and he briefly officiated as Chief Minister in 2006.^[7]

Personal life and death

Purushothaman married his childhood sweetheart Dr. Lily Purushothaman, and they had two sons and one daughter; Biju, Binu and Bindu.^[3] His elder son Biju died on 18 January 2012.

Vakkom Purushothaman died on 31 July 2023, at the age of 95.^[9]

References