Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah is a member of 14th Lok Sabha. He represents Srinagar constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, India. He was a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.He was only 29 when he first became a Minister.

Omar Abdullah is the scion of one of the most distinguished families of Kashmir. He represents modern India, is energetic, articulate, and in his two brief years in the Capital, has made a positive impact on Indian politics.

He is widely travelled, enjoys reading, and is a keen sportsman - skiing, swimming, tennis and squash being his favourite sports

Early life and education

Omar Abdullah born 10 March 1970,is the son of Mollie Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah and grandson of Sheikh Abdullah, both have remained Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir .Educated in Bombay (Mumbai) and Scotland, Omar holds a Masters degree in Business Administration.Omar is married to Payal Abdullah and has two sons. He wishes to see them "grow up in the same peaceful Kashmir that I had the privilege of growing up in.

Political career

In 1998, Omar Abdullah was elected to 12th Lok Sabha. In 1998-99, he was Member, Committee on Transport and Tourism and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Tourism. He was the youngest Minister at the age of 29. In 1999, he was re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (2nd term). On October 13, 1999 he took oath as Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry. On July 22, 2001, he was made Union Minister of State, External Affairs.

He was re-elected as President of National Conference for a second term in 2006.

In March 2006, much to the disapproval of the centre, Omar Abdullah had a one-on-one meeting with Pakistan President, Pervez Musharaf in Islamabad. This was the first meeting of its kind between a main-stream politician from Kashmir and the Pakistani government thereby re-enforcing Omar's growing commitment to the solution of the Kashmir cause - no matter what the stakes might be; Omar received a rousing reception by thousands of Kashmiris upon his return from there.

On July 9, 2007, Omar escaped a bid on his life when suspected militants threw two rifle grenades targeted at him. The incident happened when Omar was interacting with party workers at a party leader's house.

On July 22, 2008, Omar gave a passionate speech during the Trust vote . His speech was praised by almost all quarters, and even won him fans on the net He was also seen briefly, playing himself in director, Apoorva Lakhia's film, Mission Istanbul (2008), based on international terrorism.