Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and former Governor of Maharashtra, was awarded the Padma Bhushan on May 25, 2026.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari was born on June 17, 1942, in Paladhurda Chetabgarh, Bageshwar district, Uttarakhand. His father’s name was Gopal Singh Koshyari and his mother’s name was Motima Devi. Koshyari received his early education in Bageshwar, where, despite limited resources, he made education his primary goal.
Bhagat Da served as the General Secretary of the Almora College Student Union between 1961 and 1962. He also served on the Executive Council of Kumaun University from 1979 to 1985 and 1988 to 1991. He received his MA in English Literature from Almora College, affiliated with Agra University, in 1964. He then began his career as a lecturer in Etah district, Uttar Pradesh.
In 1966, he founded the Saraswati Shishu Mandir in the border district of Pithoragarh. He also played a key role in the establishment of Vivekananda Inter College in Pithoragarh. Bhagat Singh Koshyari also worked to raise public awareness through journalism. In 1975, he began publishing the Hindi weekly magazine Parvat Piyush from Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand.
Bhagat Singh Koshyari served as a Section Incharge of RSS for a long time
Regarding his political career, Bhagat Singh Koshyari served as a Vibhag Karyavah (Section Incharge) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for a long time. He also participated in the struggle against the Emergency and was detained in Almora and Fatehgarh Central Jails under the MISA (MISA) from July 3, 1975, to March 23, 1977.
In 1997, Bhagat Singh Koshyari became a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. In 2000, he was appointed Minister of Energy, Irrigation, Law, and Legislative Affairs in the newly formed state of Uttarakhand. In 2001, he succeeded Nityanand Swami as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand in November 2008. He was also appointed as the National Vice President of the BJP and the President of the BJP in Uttarakhand.
Koshyari was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from the Nainital Udham Singh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 Indian general election. On 5 September 2019, he was appointed the Governor of Maharashtra. In August 2020, he was also appointed the Governor of Goa. He resigned from the post of Governor of Maharashtra on 12 February 2023.