Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit (Devanagari: विजयलक्ष्मी नेहरू पंडित) (August 18, 1900 - December 1, 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician, sister of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
In 1921 she married Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, who died on January 14, 1944. She was the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post. In 1937 she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and was designated minister of local self-government...
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Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit (Devanagari: विजयलक्ष्मी नेहरू पंडित) (August 18, 1900 - December 1, 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician, sister of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
In 1921 she married Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, who died on January 14, 1944. She was the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post. In 1937 she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and was designated minister of local self-government and public health. She held the latter post until 1939 and again from 1946 to 1947. In 1946 she was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces.
Following India's independence from the British in 1947 she entered the diplomatic service and became India's ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1949, the United States and Mexico from 1949 to 1951, Ireland from 1955 to 1961 (during which time she was also the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom), and Spain from 1958 to 1961. Between 1946 and 1968 she also headed...
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