Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru (also referred to as Pandit Nehru) (November 14, 1889 - May 27, 1964) was the first prime minister of India for 17 years. He became prime minister after India became independent in 1947.^[1] He was born in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. He died of a heart attack in New Delhi.^[2]

His Excellency Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
जवाहरलाल नेहरू
1st Prime Minister of India
In office 15 August 1947 – 27 May 1964
Monarch	George VI (until 26 January 1950)
President	Rajendra Prasad Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Governor General	The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (until 26 January 1950)
Deputy	Vallabhbhai Patel
Preceded by	Position established Himself as Vice President of Executive Council
Succeeded by	Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
Minister of Defence
In office 31 October 1962 – 14 November 1962
Preceded by	V. K. Krishna Menon
Succeeded by	Yashwantrao Chavan
In office 30 January 1957 – 17 April 1957
Preceded by	Kailash Nath Katju
Succeeded by	V. K. Krishna Menon
In office 10 February 1953 – 10 January 1955
Preceded by	N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
Succeeded by	Kailash Nath Katju
Minister of Finance
In office 13 February 1958 – 13 March 1958
Preceded by	Tiruvellore Thattai Krishnamachariar
Succeeded by	Morarji Desai
In office 24 July 1956 – 30 August 1956
Preceded by	Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh
Succeeded by	Tiruvellore Thattai Krishnamachariar
Minister of External Affairs
In office 2 September 1946 – 27 May 1964
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Gulzarilal Nanda
Vice President of Executive Council
In office 2 September 1946 – 15 August 1947
Personal details
Born	(1889-11-14)14 November 1889 Allahabad, North-Western Provinces, British India (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
Died	27 May 1964(1964-05-27) (aged 74) New Delhi, Delhi, India
Cause of death	Heart Attack
Resting place	Shantivan
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Kamala Nehru ​ ​ (m. 1916; died 1936)​
Children	Indira Gandhi
Parents	Pandit Motilal Nehru Swaruprani Thussu
Relatives	See Nehru–Gandhi family
Education	Harrow
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge Inns of Court
Occupation	Barrister writer politician
Awards	Bharat Ratna (1955)
Signature

Nehru was the first prime minister of India after it became independent from the British rule.^[3]

Under British rule, Nehru was jailed many times. During these periods, he used to write long letters to his daughter, Indira, on Indian and World history. These letters were remarkably well written and became very successful books when published later as Glimpses of World History and The Discovery of India.^[4]

Personal life

Jawahar Lal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad to Pandit Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani.^[5] His father Motilal Nehru, a lawyer, served twice as the president of Indian National Congress^[6] and was an important figure in the Indian freedom struggle. His sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit was the first woman president of United Nations General Assembly.^[7] His daughter Indira Gandhi and grandson Rajiv Gandhi became prime ministers of India.

Nehru received his early education at home and later went to Trinity College, Cambridge and graduated with the honors degree in natural science. He studied Law at Inns of Court school. Nehru returned to India in 1912.^[7]