Rasheed Masood facts for kids

Rasheed Masood (born August 15, 1947 – died October 5, 2020) was an important Indian politician. He served many times as a Member of Parliament (MP) in India's national government. He was a member of the Indian National Congress party.

Masood represented the Saharanpur area in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, which is one of the two houses of the Indian Parliament. He was known as a very successful politician in Uttar Pradesh. He also served as a state health minister. In 2007, he was a candidate for the Vice President position.

Early Life and Education

Rasheed Masood was born on August 15, 1947. He studied at Aligarh Muslim University. There, he earned degrees in science (B.Sc.) and law (LLM). Before becoming a full-time politician, he worked as an agriculturist, meaning he was involved in farming.

Political Career Highlights

Masood's political journey began in the mid-1970s. From 1975 to 1977, he was the general secretary of the Bharatiya Lok Dal party.

First Time in Parliament

In 1977, Rasheed Masood was elected to the 6th Lok Sabha for the first time. He won this election as a member of the Janata Party. After this, he became the treasurer for the Janata Parliamentary Party from 1979 to 1980.

Serving in Different Roles

He was re-elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980, this time with the Lok Dal party. He took on leadership roles within the Lok Dal, becoming their chief whip in 1982. He also served as the deputy leader of the Lok Dal Parliamentary Party for over a year.

From 1986 to 1989, Masood was a member of the Rajya Sabha, which is the other house of India's Parliament. He returned to the Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. During this time, from April to November 1990, he was the Minister of Health and Family Welfare. This meant he was in charge of health policies for the country. In 1991, he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha.

Later Political Journey

In the late 1980s, he was part of the Janata Party. In the 1990s, he joined the Samajwadi Party. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009. In 2010, he was again elected to the Rajya Sabha.

On December 12, 2011, he left the Rajya Sabha and the Samajwadi Party. He then joined the Indian National Congress (INC). He became a special member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). In 2013, he was appointed chairman of APEDA, an organization that promotes agricultural exports.

End of Life

Rasheed Masood passed away on October 5, 2020. He died due to health problems related to COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.