Karpoori Thakur

Karpoori Thakur
Leader of the opposition
Bihar Legislative Assembly
In office
30 June 1980 – 12 February 1988
Chief MinisterJagannath Mishra
Chandrashekhar Singh
Bindeshwari Dubey
Preceded byJagannath Mishra
Succeeded byLalu Prasad Yadav
11th Chief Minister of Bihar
In office
24 June 1977 – 21 April 1979
Preceded byJagannath Mishra
Succeeded byRam Sunder Das
In office
22 December 1970 – 2 June 1971
Preceded byDaroga Prasad Rai
Succeeded byBhola Paswan Shashtri
2nd Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar
In office
5 March 1967 – 31 January 1968
Chief MinisterMahamaya Prasad Sinha
Preceded byAnugrah Narayan Sinha
Succeeded bySushil Kumar Modi
Minister of Education
Government of Bihar
In office
5 March 1967 – 31 January 1968
Chief MinisterMahamaya Prasad Sinha
Preceded bySatyendra Narayan Sinha
Succeeded bySatish Prasad Singh
Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly
In office
1985–1988
Preceded byAnwarul Haque
Succeeded byRam Jiwan Prasad
ConstituencySonbarsa
In office
1980–1985
Preceded byChandra Shekhar Singh
Succeeded byAshok Singh
ConstituencySamastipur
In office
1977–1980
Preceded byDevendra Prasad Yadav
Succeeded bySurendra Yadav
ConstituencyPhulparas
In office
1952–1977
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byConstituency defunct
ConstituencyTajpur
Personal details
Born(1924-01-24)24 January 1924
Died17 February 1988(1988-02-17) (aged 64)
Patna, Bihar, India
PartySocialist Party, Bharatiya Kranti Dal, Janata Party, Lok Dal
SpousePhuleshwari devi
ChildrenRam Nath Thakur (son)
OccupationFreedom fighter, teacher, politician
Awards Bharat Ratna (2024)

Karpoori Thakur (24 January 1924 – 17 February 1988) was an Indian politician who twice served as the 11th Chief Minister of Bihar, first from December 1970 to June 1971, and then from June 1977 to April 1979. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak (transl. people's leader). On 26 January 2024, he was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the Government of India. This was announced by the President of India Draupadi Murmu on 23 January 2024.