Om Prakash Rawat


Om Prakash Rawat is a retired 1977 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre who served as 22nd Chief Election Commissioner of India. He has also served as one of the twoElection Commissioners of India and the Public Enterprise Secretary of India.

Education

Rawat is a graduate and postgraduate in physics from the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, and has postgraduate degree in social development planning, which he did in 1989 in the United Kingdom.

Career

As an IAS officer

Rawat served in various positions for both the Government of India and the Government of Madhya Pradesh such as Principal Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Principal Secretary Principal Secretary, Vice Chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority, Excise Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh, and as the district magistrate and collector of Narsinghpur and Indore districts in the Madhya Pradesh government; and as the Union Public Enterprise Secretary, and as a joint secretary in the Ministry of Defence in the Indian government.

Public Enterprise Secretary

Rawat was appointed as the Union Public Enterprise Secretary by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in March 2012, he assumed office on 3 March 2012, and demitted it on and superannuation from service on 31 December 2013.

Post retirement

Election Commissioner of India

Rawat assumed office as one of the twoElection Commissioners of India on 14 August 2015. During his tenure at the Election Commission of India, elections to state legislative assemblies of Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry, Assam, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were held. Besides, presidential as well as vice-presidential elections were also be held during his stint with the Election Commission of India.

Chief Election Commissioner of India

As the senior-most Election Commissioner, post the retirement of Achal Kumar Jyoti, Rawat was announced to be the next Chief Election Commissioner on 21 January 2018. Rawat assumed charge as the Chief Election Commissioner of India on 23 January 2018. He retired from the post on 1 December 2018 on attaining 65 years of age.