Nilamani Routray

Nilamani Routray (24 May 1920 – 4 October 2004) was an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1977 to 1980. He served as the Health and Family Welfare Minister and then Forest and Environment Minister in the Union Government led by V.P. Singh. He died on 4 October 2004.^[3][4]

Nilamani Routray
Minister of Environment and Forests
In office 2 December 1989 – 10 November 1990
Prime Minister	V. P. Singh
Preceded by	V. P. Singh
Succeeded by	Maneka Gandhi
10th Chief Minister of Odisha
In office 26 June 1977 – 17 February 1980[1]
Preceded by	Binayak Acharya
Succeeded by	Janaki Ballabh Patnaik
Member of parliament, Lok Sabha[2]
In office 1989–1991
Preceded by	Brajmohan Mohanty
Succeeded by	Braja Kishore Tripathy
Constituency	Puri
2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha
In office 14 June 1972 - 1 March 1973
Preceded by	Pabitra Mohan Pradhan
Succeeded by	Hemananda Biswal Basant Kumar Biswal
Personal details
Born	(1920-05-24)24 May 1920 Mukundapur, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India
Died	4 October 2004(2004-10-04) (aged 84) Cuttack, Odisha, India
Political party	Janata Dal
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress, Utkal Congress, Bharatiya Lok Dal, Janata Party
Spouse	Nalini Devi Routray
Children	Bijayshree Routray
Parent	Chandra Sekhar Routray (father)
Education	B.A., LL.B.
Alma mater	Ravenshaw College, Vidyasagar College, Banaras Hindu University
Occupation	Political and Social Worker, Writer, Journalist, Lawyer
Awards	Odisha Sahitya Academy 1986

Political career

Nilamani Routray was a founder of the Odisha unit of All India Students Federation. He was the president of the Odisha state unit of the Indian National Congress from 1967 to 1970. Later he joined the Utkal Congress and became its president. Subsequent merger of Utkal Congress with Bharatiya Lok Dal, he became the president of its state unit of the merged entity. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989.^[5]

Works

His autobiography Smruti O Anubhuti (1986) won the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award in 1988.^[6][7]