K Rosaiah, who was today sworn-in as chief minister, is the senior most Congress leader who has been a minister in successive Congress governments since 1979.
77-year-old Rosaiah, a low profile and non controversial leader, has held various portfolios under different chief ministers but he is most popular as the finance minister.
He, in fact, set a record by presenting as many as 15 Budgets to the Assembly.
Born on July 1933 at Vemuru in Guntur district, the Commerce graduate has been active in politics since his student days in the Hindu College, Guntur.
A low profile and non-controversial leader, he was a close follower of the late parliamentarian and farmers leader Prof N G Ranga.
Rosaiah, who belongs to the Vaishya community, served as a member of AP Legislative Council in 1968, 1974 and 1980 and became a minister for Roads and Buildings in 1979 under Marri Channa Reddy.
Subsequently, Rosaiah served as a minister in the Cabinets of T Anjaiah, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, N Janardhana Reddy and has been serving as a minister in the YS Rajasekhara Reddy Cabinet since May 2004. He held portfolios like home, health, education and transport.
He also served as Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president between 1995 and 1997 and was elected to Lok Sabha from Narsaraopet in 1998.
Andhra University conferred an honorary doctorate on Rosaiah in 2007. Rosaiah is married to Sivalaxmi and has three sons and a daughter.
