View source for Flinder Anderson Khonglam

{{Short description|First independent legislator served as chief minister in any state}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name         = Dr. Flinder Anderson Khonglam
| image        = Dr Flinder Khonglam.jpg
| caption      = 
| order        = 8th
| office       = Chief Minister of Meghalaya
| term_start   = 8 December 2001
| term_end     = 4 March 2003
| predecessor  = [[E.K. Mawlong]]
| successor    = [[D. D. Lapang]]
| constituency = [[Sohra]]
| governor     = [[M. M. Jacob]]
| profession   = [[Physician]] 
| party        = Independent
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|df=yes|1945|2|6}}
| birth_place  = Malki, [[Shillong]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2012|5|22|1945|2|6}}
| death_place  = [[Shillong]], [[Meghalaya]], [[India]]
| residence    = [[Laitumkhrah]]
| spouse       = 
| children     = 
| signature    =
}}

'''Dr. Flinder Anderson Khonglam''' (6 February 1945 – 22 May 2012) was an Indian [[politician]] and [[physician]]. He served as the eighth [[Chief Minister of Meghalaya]] from 2001 to 2003.<ref name=tofi>{{cite news|title=Former Meghalaya CM Khonglam dead |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-22/guwahati/31815692_1_meghalaya-house-assembly-polls-sohra |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103145042/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-22/guwahati/31815692_1_meghalaya-house-assembly-polls-sohra |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-03 |date=2012-05-22 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=2012-06-15}}</ref> Khonglam was the second [[Independent (politician)|independent]] [[legislator]] to serve as the [[Chief Minister]] of any [[Indian state]] in history.<ref name=shillong>{{cite news|title=Former CM Dr FA Khonglam no more |url=http://www.theshillongtimes.com/2012/05/23/former-cm-dr-fa-khonglam-no-more/ |work=[[Shillong Times]] |date=2012-05-23 |access-date=2012-06-15}}</ref><ref name=ssp>{{cite news|title=Hundreds rally as Khonglam laid to rest |work=[[Seven Sisters Post]] |date=2012-05-25 }}</ref>

==Biography==

===Early life and career===
Khonglam was born in Malki, [[Shillong]], [[Assam]] (now [[Meghalaya]]) on 6 February 1945.<ref name=shillong/> He was the oldest of eight children born to his parents, Richard N. Lyngdoh and L. Khonglam.<ref name=shillong/> He was a doctor, working at Nazareth Hospital and several other government-owned medical facilities in the state.<ref name=shillong/>

===Political career===
Khonglam represented the [[Sohra]] ([[Cherrapunji]]) [[constituency]] in the [[Meghalaya Legislative Assembly]] for almost twenty years.<ref name=tofi/><ref name=shillong/> He first ran for the Assembly in 1978, but was defeated in the election by an opponent from the [[Hill State People's Democratic Party]] (HSPDP).<ref name=shillong/> However, Khonglam, an independent won the 1983 state election by defeating an incumbent from the HSPDP.<ref name=shillong/> In 1988, Khonglam lost his seat in the Assembly to an opponent from the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref name=shillong/>

He was re-elected in to the Meghalaya Assembly in 1993 as an independent.<ref name=shillong/> He was re-elected to two more consecutive terms from the same constituency thereafter.<ref name=shillong/> He won re-election during the 1990s as an independent.<ref name=shillong/> Khonglam was elected again in 2003, this time as a candidate for the [[Hill State People's Democratic Party]] (HSPDP).<ref name=shillong/>

He also headed the Peoples Forum of Meghalaya (PFM) and represented Sohra within the [[Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council]] (KHADC).<ref name=ssp/>

===Chief Minister of Meghalaya===
Khonglam's predecessor, former Chief Minister [[E.K. Mawlong]], was forced to resign from office due to scandal involving the construction of the [[Meghalaya House]] in [[Kolkata]].<ref name=tofi/> Khonglam became [[Chief Minister of Meghalaya]] on 8 December 2001.<ref name=shillong/> He became the second independent Chief Minister of an Indian state in history.<ref name=shillong/> He became Chief Minister through the support of the [[Nationalist Congress Party]] (NCP), led by [[P. A. Sangma]], which formed a [[coalition government]] with the Congress Party.<ref name=tofi/><ref name=shillong/> Khonglam served as Chief Minister until 4 March 2003.<ref name=ssp/>

===Later life===
Khonglam was defeated for re-election in the 2008 legislative election by Dr. P.W. Khongjee of the Indian National Congress party.<ref name=shillong/>

He suffered from [[diabetes]], which contributed to health problems in his later life, including one documented diabetic stroke.<ref name=shillong/> Khonglam fainted at his home in [[Laitumkhrah]], [[Shillong]], on 22 May 2012. He was taken to Bethany Hospital in Shillong, where he died at 6:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Indian Standard Time|IST]] on 22 May 2012, at the age of 67.<ref name=shillong/> Khonglam was buried in a cemetery in Malki.<ref name=ssp/> Dignitaries in attendance at the funeral included the Meghalaya Deputy Chief Ministers, [[Bindo Lanong]] and [[Rowell Lyngdoh]], and [[Hopingstone Lingdoh]], the leader of the Hill State People's Democratic Party.<ref name=ssp/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Chief Ministers of Meghalaya}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khonglam, Flinder Anderson}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Meghalaya]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian medical doctors]]
[[Category:People from Shillong]]
[[Category:State cabinet ministers of Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Meghalaya politicians]]
[[Category:Scientists from Meghalaya]]
[[Category:Hill State People's Democratic Party politicians]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Manipur]]
[[Category:Meghalaya MLAs 1983–1988]]
[[Category:Meghalaya MLAs 1993–1998]]
[[Category:Meghalaya MLAs 1998–2003]]
[[Category:Meghalaya MLAs 2003–2008]]