UpdateBot at 06:41, 21 June 2022

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{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{for|the Chief Secretary of Kerala, India|John Mathai (administrator)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =[[Padma Vibhushan]]
| name =John Matthai
| honorific-suffix =
| image = John Mathai.jpg
| caption = John Matthai in 1949
| office1 = [[Minister of Finance (India)|Union Minister for Finance]]
| term_start1 = 22 September 1948
| term_end1 = 1 June 1950
| predecessor1 = [[R. K. Shanmukham Chetty]]
| successor1 = [[C. D. Deshmukh]]
| primeminister1 = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|office2=[[Minister of Railways (India)|Union Minister for Railways]]
|predecessor2=''Office established''
|term_start2 = 15 August 1947
|term_end2 = 22 September 1948
|primeminister2=[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|successor2=[[N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1886|01|10}}
| birth_place = [[Calicut]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] (now Kozhikode, Kerala, India)
| death_date = {{Death date|df=yes|1959|02|}} (aged 73)
| death_place =
| nationality = [[British Indian]] (1886-1947)<br/>[[Indian people|Indian]] (1947-59)
| party =Indian National Congress
| alma_mater = [[Madras Christian College]], [[Madras Law College]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.drjohnmatthai.com/early-life--education.html | title=Early Life & Education | publisher=John Mathai | access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref>
| profession =
| occupation =
| spouse =
}}
'''John Matthai''' [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]] (1886–1959) was an [[economist]] who served as [[India]]'s first [[Indian Railways|Railway Minister]] and subsequently as India's [[Finance Minister]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Reflections on Finance Education and Society|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publication|pages=114|isbn= 9788120830752|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R5QxQ3sOVPcC|access-date=2009-07-22}}</ref> taking office shortly after the presentation of India's first Budget, in 1948.
He was born on January 10, 1886, as the son of Challiyal Thomas Matthai and Anna Thayyil to an [[Saint Thomas Anglicans|Anglican Syrian Christian]] family.<ref name="Biography">{{cite book |last1=Haridasan |first1=Dr. V. |title=Dr. John Matthai, 1886-1959 : a biography |date=2000 |publisher=Publication Division, University of Calicut |location=Kozhikode |isbn=978-8177480085 |pages=1–2, 8–9}}</ref> He graduated in economics from the [[University of Madras]]. He served as a Professor and Head in University of Madras from 1922 to 1925.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unom.ac.in/eco1.html |title=University of Madras: Department of Economics |access-date=2009-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029025651/http://www.unom.ac.in/eco1.html |archive-date=2008-10-29 }}</ref> He presented two [[Union budget of India|Budgets]] as India's Finance Minister, but resigned following the 1950 Budget in protest against the increasing power of the [[Planning Commission (India)|Planning Commission]] and [[P. C. Mahalanobis]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/special-coverage/rail-budget-07/men-who-shaped-up-indias-economy/articleshow/1645981.cms|title=Men who shaped up India's economy|date=2007-02-21|work=The Economic Times|access-date=2019-04-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rostrumlegal.com/journal/the-concept-of-collective-ministerial-responsibility-in-india-theory-practice/|title=The Concept of Collective Ministerial Responsibility in India- Theory and Practice|date=2014-01-02|website=Rostrum's Law Review|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}}</ref> He was the first [[List of chairmen of the State Bank of India|Chairman of the State Bank of India]] when it was set up in 1955. He was the founding President of the Governing Body of the [[National Council of Applied Economic Research]] (NCAER) in New Delhi, India's first independent economic policy institute established in 1956. He served as the [[Chancellor (education)|Vice Chancellor]] of the [[University of Mumbai]] from 1955 till 1957<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matthai |first1=John |title=A Message By the Vice-Chancellor |journal=The Bombay Technologist |date=1957 |volume=7 |issue=1 |url=http://www.bombaytechnologist.org/index.php/bombaytechnologist/article/view/129188 |access-date=12 June 2020 |language=en |issn=0067-9925}}</ref> and then as the first Vice Chancellor of the [[University of Kerala]] from 1957 to 1959. His nephew, [[Verghese Kurien]], is generally recognized as the architect of India's [[White Revolution (India)|White Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thelogicalindian.com/rewind/the-nephew-of-our-first-railway-minister-was-the-architect-of-white-revolution/|title=The Nephew Of Our First Railway Minister Was The Architect Of 'White Revolution'|date=2016-06-14|website=The Logical Indian|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}}</ref> Dr. John Matthai Centre,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jmctsr.org/|title=Dr. John Matthai Centre|website=www.jmctsr.org|access-date=2019-04-04}}</ref> [[Thrissur]], located on the large plot of land donated by his family, is named in his honour. His wife, Achamma Matthai was an Indian social worker and a women's rights activist.<ref name="Women's Rights and World Development">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnJ9J9UygR0C&q=Achamma+Mathai&pg=PA304 | title=Women's Rights and World Development | publisher=Sarup & Sons | date=1998 | access-date=31 March 2015 | author=Bela Rani Sharma| isbn=9788176250153 }}</ref> The [[Government of India]] honoured her in 1954 with the award of [[Padma Shri]], the fourth highest Indian civilian award, for her contributions to the society,<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Shri |publisher=Padma Shri |date=2015 |access-date=11 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

John Matthai was invested as a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1934,<ref>[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34056/page/3561 London Gazette, 4 June 1934]</ref> and was awarded the [[Padma Vibhushan]] in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmavibhushan_awards_list1.php?start=230 |title=Padma Vibhushan Awardees |publisher=The National Portal of India |access-date=2009-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229165446/http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmavibhushan_awards_list1.php?start=230 |archive-date=2012-02-29 }}</ref> NCAER, led by the President of its Governing Body, Nandan Nilekani and with support from the Nilekani Philanthropies, honoured John Matthai in 2019 by naming NCAER's new office building at its campus in New Delhi as the John Matthai Tower.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.jmctsr.org/ Dr. John Matthai Centre]

{{s-start}}

{{succession box
|before=[[R. K. Shanmukham Chetty]]
|title=[[Finance Minister of India]]
|years=1949–1951
|after=[[Chintamanrao Deshmukh]]
}}

{{s-end}}

{{First Indian Cabinet}}
{{Ministry of Civil Aviation (India)}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}
{{SBI}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthai, John}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Malayali politicians]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala]]
[[Category:First Nehru ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Madras Christian College alumni]]
[[Category:Railway Ministers of India]]
[[Category:Finance Ministers of India]]
[[Category:Ministers for Corporate Affairs]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of the Governor General of India]]

John Matthai - Revision history

UpdateBot at 06:41, 21 June 2022