Shivraj Patil is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) who served as the tenth speaker of the Indian Parliament from 1991 to 1996. From 2004 to 2008, Patil served as the Minister of Home Affairs of India.Patil grew up in a middle-class family in Latur, Maharashtra, India.After obtaining a post-graduate degree in law, Shivraj began teaching law at a college. He did the job for around six months and then moved to his hometown Latur, where he started practising law. After a few years, he ventured into politics.Shivraj Patil began his political career by joining the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1967. Subsequently, he was elected as the President of the Latur Municipality.Elected as a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for two consecutive terms (from 1973 to 1978 and from 1978 to 1980), Patil held various important positions like Chairman of the Public Undertakings Committee (1974-1975), Deputy Minister of Law & Judiciary, Irrigation, Protocol, Maharashtra (1975-1976), Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (1977-1978), and Speaker of the Assembly (1978-1979).Shivraj Patil got elected to the seventh Lok Sabha in 1980. Subsequently, he was elected to the Lok Sabha for six consecutive terms, i.e., in 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, and 1999. Patil contested the Lok Sabha elections again in 2004, but he lost to Rupatai Patil Nilangekar, a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party.He served as the vice president of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, from 1983 to 1986.Inducted in the Indira Gandhi government as the Minister of State for Defence from 1980 to 1982 for the first time, Patil later went on to hold various ministerial posts like Minister of Commerce (independent charge) ( 1982-1983), Minister of Science and Technology, Atomic Energy, Electronics, Space, and Ocean Development (1983-1984), Union Minister of State, Science and Technology, Space, Atomic Energy, Electronics, Ocean Development, and Bio-Technology (1984-1986), Union Minister of State, Personnel and Training, Public Grievances and Pensions and Administrative Reforms (1985), Minister for Defence Production, Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism (independent charge) (1988-1989), and Minister of Home Affairs (2004-2008).During his tenure as the speaker of the tenth Lok Sabha, Shivraj Patil did extraordinary work and took many initiatives which were applauded by various quarters. He was equally respected by both the parties- ruling and opposition. Patil has successfully helped defuse the tensions and ease the situation on several instances when Lok Sabha became tense and tumultuous. He is often admired for peacefully conducting the House during debates on various controversial issues like the criminalisation of politics and bank scams. Shivraj Patil conducting a Lok Sabha session as the speaker.While Shivraj was the speaker of the Lok Sabha, the house discussed and rejected the first-ever motion for the impeachment of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. Patil gave special attention to the case and consulted the matter with various parties and groups, ensuring that proper procedure was followed to consider the motion as it was a matter of great importance.