Sheila Dikshit
Honourable Chief Minister, National Capital, Territory of Delhi, India

Smt. Sheila Dikshit took over as the Chief Minister of the Government of NCT of Delhi on 3rd December 1998. She is the second woman Chief Minister of Delhi and represents Gole Market Constituency in the Assembly.

Smt. Sheila Dikshit was born on March 31, 1938, in Kapurthala, Punjab. She is the eldest of three sisters. Holder of a Master of Arts degree in History, she received her education at Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi and later in Miranda House, Delhi University. Her late husband Shri Vinod Dikshit was a widely respected member of Indian Administrative Service.

Smt. Sheila Dikshit was a member of the 8th Lok Sabha and represented Kannauj Parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh from 1984-89. As a Member of Parliament, she served as a Minister in the Union Government during 1986-89, first as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and alter had additional charge as Minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office. She also chaired the Implementation Committee for commemoration of forty years of India's Independence and Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary.

In May 1998, she was appointed President of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee. She led her party to a sweeping victory in the Delhi Assembly elections in 1998.

As Chief Minister of Delhi, she is determined to make Delhi a truly Capital City of the world. Democratic decentralization and people's partnership in governance are her major planks of administration. She has established District development Committees with public representatives and RWAs at the District Level and ahs initiated through "Bhagidari" a people's and Government partnership in governance. This partnership is being specially encouraged to make Delhi a cleaner and greener city. A well-enunciated policy including low cost housing for their settlement is on the avil. Amongst her priorities is also to make Delhi a first rate "Cyber City" by the year 2003 and bring in E-Governance for a transparent & corruption free govt.

Smt. Sheila Dikshit has championed the cause of women and represented India on the UN Commission on Status of Women for five years (1984-89). In Uttar Pradesh, she along with her 82 colleagues were jailed in August 1990 for 23 days by state government when she led a people's movement against the atrocities being committed on women. In the early 1970's, she was Chairperson of the Young Women's Association.

She is also Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. Under her aegis an Environmental Centre has been set up at the Trust.

She has been especially interested in the promotion of handicrafts and of rural artisans all over the country. Between 1978 to 1983, in her capacity as the Executive Secretary of the Garment Exporters' Association, she played a leading role in taking garments exports to unprecedented levels.