Sheila Dikshit is the chief minister of Delhi since 1998. On 15th December 2003, Smt. Sheila Dikshit was sworn-in as Chief Minister for the second consecutive term. In the Assembly Sheila Dikshit represents the Gole Market Constituency and is the second woman Chief Minister of Delhi. She has also served the chairperson of the Young Women`s Association. Even sections within Congress, Sheila Dikshit nicknamed as an "outsider". She has demonstrated her popularity by spearheading Congress back to power in Delhi for the second consecutive time in an extraordinary feat. 65-year-old Sheila Dikshit, riding on the twin-plank of governance and development, became the first Chief Minister who got a second successive term to rule Delhi.

On March 31, 1938, Smt. Sheila Dikshit was born in a non-political family in Punjab`s Kapurthala district as the eldest of three daughters. She received her education at Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi and later in Miranda House, Delhi University. She also holds Master degree in History. Her late husband Shri Vinod Dikshit, Son of Veteran freedom Fighter Umashankar Dikshit, was a widely respected member of the Indian Administrative Service. She has two children, one son and one daughter.

In administrative and legislative matters, Sheila has shown considerable penetration. After the 1969 split in Congress in a big way, she got involved in politics. She faced one of the major challenges of her life when Indira Gandhi trusted only some of her supporters, including Uma Shankar Dikshit. Sheila stepped in to assist him as her father-in-law`s workload increased assorted in the wake of this development. Indira Gandhi acknowledged Sheila`s potential while managing Uma Shankar Dikshit`s affairs. Impressed by her work, Gandhi designated Sheila to work as a member of the Indian delegation to the UN Commission on status of women.

During 1986 - 89, in the Rajiv Gandhi government she served as a Minister in the Union Government, first as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and later as a Minister of State in the Prime Minister`s office. Between 1984-89, she was a Member of Parliament in lieu of Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh. She served on the Estimates Committee of Lok Sabha as a Member of Parliament. She, of Forty Years of India`s Independence and Jawaharlal Nehru centenary, also chaired the Implementation Committee for Commemoration. In 1998, as the President of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, she led her party to a far-reaching victory in the Assembly elections.

Smt. Sheila Dikshit in various capacities has defended the cause of women at various installations. She has played a leading figure in the movement for granting of equal rights to women. For five years (1984 - 89) she exemplified India on the U.N. Commission on Status of Women. She along with her 82 colleagues in Uttar Pradesh, were sent to jail in August 1990 for 23 days by the state government because she was headed a people`s movement against the cruelties being committed on women. Agitated by this, lakhs of citizens all over UP joined the movement and solicited arrest. In the early 1970`s, she was instrumental in the setting up two of most successful hostels for working women in Delhi.

She is serving as the Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. In promotion of international understanding, the trust has come to play a leading role. It delivers the Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development. The trust also organizes conferences on issues of the global concern. She has endlessly striving for the promotion of handicrafts and rural artisans all over the country. Over the years, promotion of the folk theatre has been one of her steadfast confinements. In her capacity as the executive secretary of the Garment Exporter`s Association, between 1978 -1984, she played a contributing role in taking garments exports to unprecedented levels.

The departments held by her are:

Administrative Reforms

General Administration Department

Home Department

Law & Justice and Legislative

Public Relations

Services Department

Vigilance Department

Water

Higher Education

Training & Technical Education

All other Departments not allocated elsewhere

A strongly committed person to Secularism, Sheila Dikshit has fought against the rise of communal forces from every platform. She exercises the credence that if democracy is to beyond doubt survives in India; the basic norms of correct behavior and morality have to form an integral part of public life. While in power, her motto has been `good governance` and `development with promise` to make Delhi rise to world-class standards. Her government centered on reforms in various sectors and continuously worked for the engagement of people in decision-making by introducing concept of `bhagidari` (partnership) with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAS). Another priority of her government was E-governance, which are aimed at doing away with corruption and installing a transparent government.