Dr. P.C. Alexander is one of the most distinguished
and respected public servants of the post-Independence era,
distinguished and respected because of the high standards of efficiency,
impartiality and integrity he had maintained throughout his career. An
outstanding statesman and administrator, he has the distinction of
having held several high positions in public life both at the national
and international levels spanning a period of over half a century. These
include
· Three years as Secretary in the Ministry of
Commerce, Government of India,
· Four years as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister,
· Three years as High Commissioner for India in London,
· Over eleven years as Governor (Tamil Nadu 1988-90 of which one
year was when the State was under
President’s rule and Maharashtra from January 1993), and
· Ten years in senior posts in the U. N. Civil Service.
It was while serving as Assistant Secretary General
and Executive Director of the UN International Trade Centre, Geneva,
that Shrimati Indira Gandhi invited him to join her office as Principal
Secretary. As Principal Secretary to Indira Gandhi and later to Rajiv
Gandhi during the years 1981-1985, he played a very crucial role in the
momentous developments of this period.
Dr. Alexander took his post-graduate degree in
History arid Economics from the Travancore University and M.Litt and
D.Litt. degrees by research from the Annamalai University before joining
the Indian Administrative Service (lAS 1948). After serving in the
districts in the then Madras and Travancore-Cochin states, he joined the
Central Government in 1955 on deputation. He was later selected to the
Central Administrative Pool of officers and continued to work in various
capacities in the Government of India till his superannuation from
service.
He had training in the Board of Trade U.K. under a
Nuffield Foundation Fellowship and done research at the Stanford
Research Institute, California, U.S.A. under a Ford Foundation
Fellowship.
Dr. Alexander from his younger days in school and
colleges had excelled himself in elocution and debates, consistently
winning first prizes in inter-school and inter-collegiate competitions.
While a student at the Travancore University he was the leader of the
Travancore University debating team which was deputed to visit other
universities for inter-university debates. He was President of the
Travancore University Union during 1940-41.
Throughout his career Dr. Alexander has won the
acclaim and admiration of his audiences as a gifted and erudite speaker
on a wide range of subjects of crucial importance to the nation.
He was the recipient of the prestigious Kanchi
Paramacharya Award for National Eminence in Public Administration in
1999.
Dr. Alexander has been a member of the Central
Executive Committee of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan world wide for
over a decade and was elected as its Vice-President arid Trustee a year
ago. He has been Chairman of the Nehru Trust for Cambridge University
from June 1989.
Dr. Alexander has authored several books, articles
and research papers and enjoys as high a reputation as a writer as he
does as a speaker. His latest books are:
1. My Years with Indira Gandhi
2. The Perils of Democracy
3. India in the New Millennium.
Dr Alexander resigned as Governor of Maharashtra on
13th July 2002. At present he is a member of Rajya Sabha from
Maharashtra.
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