H. D. Deve Gowda (born 18 May 1933) is an Indian politician who served as the eleventh Prime Minister of India from June 1996 to April 1997, at the head of the United Front coalition. He was Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996 and is the founder and president of the Janata Dal (Secular). Calling himself a “humble farmer”, he has been in public life for more than sixty years and is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda |
| Born | 18 May 1933, Haradanahalli, Hassan district, Mysore State (now Karnataka), India |
| Age | 93 |
| Office | 11th Prime Minister of India (1 June 1996 – 21 April 1997) |
| Party | Janata Dal (Secular) |
| Earlier office | Chief Minister of Karnataka (1994–1996) |
| Education | Diploma in civil engineering, Hassan |
| Spouse | Chennamma (m. 1954) |
| Children | 6, including H. D. Kumaraswamy and H. D. Revanna |
Early Life
Deve Gowda was born into a farming family of the Vokkaliga community. He earned a diploma in civil engineering and worked briefly as a contractor before entering politics. He joined the Congress in 1953 and was elected to the Mysore assembly from Holenarasipur in 1962 as an independent.
Political Career
He held Holenarasipur for six terms, was Leader of the Opposition in the 1970s and was jailed during the Emergency. As a minister in Ramakrishna Hegde’s Janata government from 1983 he handled public works and irrigation, the subject closest to his heart. He led the Janata Dal to victory in the 1994 state election and became Chief Minister.
After the 1996 general election produced no majority and Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s government lasted thirteen days, the United Front of regional and left parties, supported from outside by the Congress, chose Deve Gowda as its leader. His government signed the thirty-year Ganga water-sharing treaty with Bangladesh in December 1996, and his Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, presented the tax-cutting “dream budget” of 1997. The Congress withdrew support in April 1997, and I. K. Gujral succeeded him.
When the Janata Dal broke up in 1999 he formed the Janata Dal (Secular). His son H. D. Kumaraswamy was twice Chief Minister of Karnataka in coalition governments. Deve Gowda lost his Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and entered the Rajya Sabha in 2020. His party allied with the BJP in 2023, and Kumaraswamy became a Union minister in 2024.
Personal Life
He married Chennamma in 1954. The family remains influential in the Hassan and Mandya districts of southern Karnataka.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was H. D. Deve Gowda born?
H. D. Deve Gowda was born on 18 May 1933 in Haradanahalli, Hassan district, Mysore State (now Karnataka), India and is 93 years old.
Featured image: H. D. Deve Gowda (left) with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, New Delhi, February 2005. Photo by Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
