19 Facts About Margaret Alva

Margaret Nazareth Alva was born on 14 April 1942 and is an Indian politician.

Margaret Alva served as the 17th Governor of Goa, 23rd Governor of Gujarat, 19th Governor of Rajasthan and 4th Governor of Uttarakhand at various times between 2009 and 2014.

Margaret Alva took over in Rajasthan from the Punjab governor, Shivraj Patil, who had been holding an additional charge of that state.

Margaret Alva obtained a BA degree from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore and a law degree from Government Law College in the same city.

Margaret Alva was a keen and appreciated debater during her time at college and had some involvement in students' movements.

Margaret Alva has acknowledged this encouragement, saying that "I never had to face any family constraints on my political activities" and she has said that the death of Violet in 1969 provided the impetus.

Margaret Alva aligned herself with the Congress faction led by Indira Gandhi and worked for its state unit in Karnataka.

Margaret Alva served as Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee between 1975 and 1977 and as General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee between 1978 and 1980.

Margaret Alva served a six-year term and was then re-elected for three more six-year terms, in 1980,1986, and 1992.

Margaret Alva served on various House committees, which garnered her a considerable degree of procedural expertise, and was briefly Minister for Science and Technology.

Margaret Alva continued her efforts to improve the lot of women during her period as Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs, where she tried to increase the number of female officeholders in various ministries and government organisations, such as the Union Public Service Commission and the judiciary.

Margaret Alva has been involved with women's issues and related matters such as population growth on the international stage, notably through various United Nations bodies and in writings.

Margaret Alva was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament in 1999 for the Uttara Kannada constituency, serving a five-year term.

Margaret Alva lost a subsequent re-election attempt in the 2004.

In November 2008, Margaret Alva said that Congress seats for the elections in Karnataka were open to bidders rather than subject to meritocratic appointment.

Congress denied her claims and a meeting with the party president, Sonia Gandhi resulted in Margaret Alva resigning or being removed from her numerous official responsibilities in the party.

Margaret Alva has declined to go into details of the 2008 controversy even as her resignation letter continues to be a subject of media speculation.

On 6 August 2009, Margaret Alva became the first female Governor of Uttarakhand.

Margaret Alva remained in the post until May 2012, at which time she was appointed Governor of Rajasthan, which was a more important region in political terms.