Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil passed away at the age of 90 in his hometown Latur on Friday morning, family sources confirmed. Patil died at his residence, ‘Devghar’, following a brief illness. His funeral is expected to take place on Saturday.
He is survived by his son Shailesh Patil, daughter-in-law Archana—who contested the last assembly election on a BJP ticket against Congress MLA Amit Deshmukh—and two granddaughters.
Born on October 12, 1935, Patil began his political career as president of the Latur municipality (1966–1970) before being elected MLA for two terms. Between 1977 and 1979, he served as both Deputy Speaker and Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Patil later represented the Latur Lok Sabha constituency seven times and held the post of Lok Sabha Speaker from 1991 to 1996. Although he lost the 2004 Lok Sabha election to BJP’s Rupatai Patil Nilangekar, he continued to serve the party as a Rajya Sabha member.
During his long career in national politics, Patil held key Union portfolios, including Defence, Commerce, and Science & Technology. He served as Union Home Minister from 2004 to 2008, stepping down after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He was appointed Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015.
Patil was widely respected for his dignified conduct and refusal to engage in personal attacks, whether in public or private. Known for his deep reading, meticulous study and command over Marathi, Hindi and English, he was regarded as an articulate and authoritative voice on constitutional matters.
