Sushilkumar Shinde is an important name among Indian Politicians. He hails from the state of Maharashtra. He is currently the Cabinet Minister for Power under the Dr. Manmohan Singh tenure. He is the first Dalit person to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is the leader of the Indian National Congress.

Early Life of Sushilkumar Shinde
Sushilkumar Shinde was born to a very poor Hindu "kakkaya-Dhor" family on 4th September 1941to father Sambhaji Rao Shinde and mother Sakhu Bai. He did his B.A. (Hons.), LL.B. at Sangameshwar and Dayanand College, Solapur, Shivaji University, Kolhapur and New Law College, University of Bombay, Maharashtra. He started his career as sub-inspector of police. He also studied law.

Political Career of Sushilkumar Shinde
Shinde became a member of the Congress party in the year 1971 as congress politician. Three years later he again contested an assembly election from Karmala in Solapur and won by 25,000 votes. He was honoured with the post of a Junior Minister in V P Naik government. Sushilkumar Shinde rejoined the Congress Party and became the finance minister in the new Vasantdada Patil Government. He won Maharashtra State Assembly elections in 1978, 1980, 1985 and 1990. In 1999, he acted as campaign manager of the congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. On October 30, 2004, he was appointed the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. On January 29, 2006, before resigning and leaving office, he served as governor for more or less more than one year.

Posts Held by Sushilkumar Shinde
During his tenure Sushilkumar Shinde held many important posts that are listed below:
1974 - 92 Member, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
1974 - 75 Minister of State for Sports and Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra
1975 - 77 Minister of State for Finance, Family Welfare, Sports and Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra
1978 Cabinet Minister for Labour and Tourism, Government of Maharashtra
1983 - 85 Cabinet Minister for Finance, Planning, Sports and Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra
1985 Cabinet Minister for Finance, Planning, Environment, Government of Maharashtra
1986 Cabinet Minister for Finance, Planning, Industry, Law and Judiciary, Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra
1988-90 Cabinet Minister for Finance, Cultural Affairs, Sports and Planning, Government of Maharashtra
1990 Cabinet Minister for Urban Development, Government of Maharashtra
1991 Cabinet Minister for Urban Development, Law and Judiciary, Government of Maharashtra July
1992 Elected to Rajya Sabha
1998 - 99 Member of Twelfth Lok Sabha
1999 - 2003 Member, Thirteenth Lok Sabha
2003 - 2004 Member, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
2004 Chief Minister, Maharashtra
2004 - 2006 Governor of Andhra Pradesh
2006 onwards Union Minister of Power

Awards Received by Sushilkumar Shinde
For his contribution in the arena of Parliamentary Procedure he was conferred the National Citizen`s Award 1993 and 1994.

Personal Life of Sushilkumar Shinde
Sushilkumar Shinde married Smt. Ujwala Shinde on 1st May 1970. The couple has 3 daughters.