George Fernandes

Politician, Indian Trade Unionist, Journalist, Agriculturist, Member of Rajya Sabha

Indian Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Quick Info

ProfessionPolitician, Indian Trade Unionist, Journalist, Agriculturist, Member of Rajya Sabha
NationalityIndian
Date of Birth03/06/1930
Age88 years (died on 29, Jan, 2019)
BirthplaceMangalore, Karnataka, India
Date of Death29/01/2019

Do you like George Fernandes?

You can vote only once.

Bio/Wiki

Full NameGeorge Mathew Fernandes
NicknameGerry
Political PartySamata Party
SchoolSt Peter's Seminary
CollegeSt. Aloysius College, Mangalore

Physical Stats & More

Eye ColorBlack
Hair ColorGrey

Educational Qualification(s)

QualificationSecondary School Drop-out

Personal Life

Place of DeathDelhi, India
Age (at the time of death)88 Years
Death CauseAlzheimer's Disease
ReligionMangalorean Catholics
HobbyListening to music

Relationships & More

Marital StatusSeparated
Affairs/GirlfriendsLeila Kabir
Wife/Spouse/PartnerLeila Kabir (separated in the mid-1980s)
Marriage Date21/07/1971
ChildrenSean Fernandes, Investment Banker

Family

FatherJohn Joseph Fernandes
MotherAlice Martha Fernandes (nÊe Pinto)
SiblingsMichael Fernandes, Aloysius Fernandes, Paul Fernandes, Lawrence Fernandes, Richard Fernandes

Career

Political Journey
  • 1967: Won the Samyukta Socialist Party elections against S.K. Patil
  • 1969: Selected as General Secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party
  • 1973: Chairman of the Socialist Party
  • 1998-2004: Appointed as a Defence Minister in the second and third National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Governments
  • 1961-1967: Member of Bombay Municipal Corporation
  • 1974: Led the All India Railwaymen's Federation strike involving over 1 million workers
  • 1977: Won from Muzaffarpur, Bihar as Janata Party candidate while in jail
  • 1977-1979: Union Minister in Morarji Desai government (Minister of Communications, Industry, Railways)
  • 1980: Won from Muzaffarpur as Janata Party (Secular) candidate
  • 1994: Founded Samata Party
  • 1998-2004: Appointed as Defence Minister in the second and third National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Governments
  • 1951: Joined Bombay Dock Worker's Union and worked to revive The Dockman newsletter
  • 1967: Won elections from Bombay South constituency against S.K. Patil of the Indian National Congress
  • 1975-1976: Went underground during the Emergency era while challenging Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; arrested in 1976 in the Baroda dynamite case
  • 1967-2009: Member of Lok Sabha for over 30 years, mostly representing constituencies from Bihar
Trade Union Leadership
  • President of the All India Railwaymen's Federation
  • Key figure in the Bombay labour movement from the early 1950s
  • Central figure in the unionisation of Bombay labour
  • Organised numerous strikes and bandhs in Bombay during the 1950s and 1960s
  • Fought for rights of labourers in small-scale industries such as hotels, restaurants, dock workers, and municipal workers
Publications
  • What Ails the Socialists (1972)
  • The Kashmir Problem
  • Railway Strike of 1974
  • Dignity for All: Essays in Socialism and Democracy (1991)
  • George Fernandes Speaks (autobiography, 1991)
Editorial Work
  • Editor of English monthly The Other Side
  • Chairman of The Other Side publication

Favourites

Actors
Actresses
  • Madhu Bala
  • Nargis
  • Suraiya Jamaal Sheikh
Music Forms
  • Western
  • Classical

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. George's mother, inspired by King George V, chose the name George for him at birth on 3 June.
2. At the age of 19, George relocated to Mumbai in pursuit of job opportunities but faced challenges at first.
3. From a tender age, George harbored a strong passion for writing and journalism.
4. Impressively, George possessed the ability to fluently converse in ten different languages.
5. Regrettably, George battled with both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases during his lifetime.
6. During the 1975 Emergency, he went underground, was arrested in the Baroda dynamite case, and continued opposing Indira Gandhi from jail.
7. At age 16, he decided to join the priesthood and became a seminarian at St. Mary's Seminary for one and a half years, then at St. Peters Seminary before leaving to pursue other opportunities.
8. In 1949, at age 19, George relocated to Bombay in search of job opportunities but faced severe hardship, sleeping on the benches of Chowpatty Sands until he secured work as a proof-reader for a newspaper.
9. From a tender age, George harboured a strong passion for writing and journalism.
10. During the 1975 Emergency, he went underground while challenging Indira Gandhi, was arrested in 1976 in the Baroda dynamite case, and continued opposing the government from jail.
11. He was a firebrand socialist leader known for his passionate devotion to every cause he pursued and his powerful oratory skills.
12. He rose from the streets of Bombay to become India's Defence Minister, demonstrating remarkable social mobility.
Information on this page is collected from public sources and may not be 100% accurate. Report an error
Scroll to Top