Veena George

2021-05-29T04:06:31Z

2409:4073:2105:C03A:0:0:10E9:78A0:

{{Short description|Indian politician}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Veena George
| native_name =
| honorific-suffix =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1976|08|03}}
| birth_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Kerala]]
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| image = Minister Veena George.jpg
| office = Minister for Health and Family Welfare, [[Government of Kerala]]
| 1blankname = Chief Minister
| 1namedata = [[Second Vijayan ministry| Pinarayi Vijayan]]
| term_start = {{Start date|2021|05|20|df=yes}}
| term_end =
| predecessor = [[K. K. Shailaja]]
| office1 = [[Kerala Legislative Assembly|Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start1 = {{Start date|2016|06|02|df=yes}}
| term_end1 =
| term_start2 =
| constituency1 = [[Aranmula (State Assembly constituency)|Aranmula]]
| constituency2 =
| predecessor1 = [[K. Sivadasan Nair]]
| occupation =
| party = [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]
| spouse = George Joseph
| children = 2
| website =
| footnotes =
| date =
| year =
| source =
| caption =
| native_name_lang =
| alma_mater = [[University of Kerala]]<br />([[Bachelor of Science|B.Sc.]], [[Master of Science|M.Sc.]], [[Bachelor of Education|B.Ed.]])
}}
'''Veena George''' is an Indian politician and current '''Minister for Health and Family Welfare''' in the [[Government of Kerala]].<ref>https://kerala.gov.in/documents/10180/10f1c4c2-f98b-4600-9b2a-749f33bdb791</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/kerala/article/veena-george-to-replace-kk-shailja-as-kerala-health-minister-heres-list-of-cpim-ministers-and-portfolios/758956 | title=Veena George to replace KK Shailaja as Kerala health minister; here's list of new ministers and portfolios | publisher=Times Now | date=19 May 2021 | accessdate=19 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Notifications - Government of Kerala, India|url=https://kerala.gov.in/notifications|access-date=2021-05-21|website=kerala.gov.in}}</ref> She is elected from [[Aranmula (State Assembly constituency)|Aranmula constituency]] to the [[Kerala State Assembly|Kerala Legislative Assembly]] representing [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]. Prior to joining politics, she has worked with major Malayalam news channels for over 16 years. She is also the first female executive editor among Malayalam news channels.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/meet-11-women-mlas-who-will-join-kerala-assembly-148266 | title=Meet the 11 women MLAs who will join the Kerala Assembly | publisher=The NewsMinute | work=Haritha John | date=4 May 2021 | accessdate=7 May 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Born in [[Thiruvananthapuram]] on 3 August 1976 to Rosamma Kuriakose and Adv. P. E. Kuriakose, she did her basic schooling from Mount Bethany High School [[Mylapra]] in [[Pathanamthitta district|Pathanamthitta]] district. She pursued [[Physics]] for graduation and postgraduation from [[Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram]] and completed her [[Bachelor of Education|B.Ed.]] as a [[University of Kerala]] rank holder. She had taught [[Physics]] at [[Catholicate College Pathanamthitta]] for one year before taking up journalism as her career choice. She joined [[Kairali TV]] as a journalist trainee and had a 16 year old successful career with prominent Malayalam news channels. In 2015, she took charge as the executive editor of the Malayalam news channel [[TV New]] and become the first woman to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Veena George, the first woman Executive Editor in the history of Malayalam TV news|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/veena-george-first-woman-executive-editor-history-malayalam-tv-news%3famp|access-date=2021-05-22|website=The News Minute}}</ref>
She is married to Dr. George Joseph, a higher secondary school teacher and former secretary of the [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Veena George likely to replace KK Shailaja as health minister in new Kerala cabinet: Who is she|url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/amp/news/india/veena-george-who-is-she-kerala-health-minister-kk-shailaja-pinarayi-vijayan-cabinet-list-latest-updates-705647|access-date=2021-05-22|website=India TV}}</ref>

==Career==

===Television career===

Veena George began her career at [[Kairali TV]] as a journalist trainee, later she joined [[Manorama News]] as a news anchor and also presented morning shows and special international news programmes. Later she was associated with Malayalam news channels [[Indiavision]], [[Reporter TV]] in prominent roles and joined TV New the roll of executive editor in 2015.<ref>[http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/veena-george-first-woman-executive-editor-history-malayalam-tv-news Veena George, the first woman Executive Editor in the history of Malayalam TV news]</ref>

===Political career===

She was a [[Students' Federation of India]] (SFI) activist in her college days. She contested elections for the first time when the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI (M)]] fielded her from an [[Indian National Congress|INC]] held [[Aranmula (State Assembly constituency)|Aranmula]] seat in [[2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election|2016 assembly polls]]. She defeated senior INC leader, [[K. Sivadasan Nair]] with a margin of 7646 votes. In [[2019 Indian general election]], Veena contested from [[Pathanamthitta (Lok Sabha constituency)|Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency]] and came second in a fierce tri-cornered battle with the [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]] and INC.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sabarimala could hold the key|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sabarimala-could-hold-the-key/article26705343.ece/amp/|access-date=2021-05-22|website=The Hindu}}</ref> She retained her seat in 2021 assembly elections with an increased margin of 19,003 votes. On 20th May 2021, she sworn in as a cabinet minister in the first [[Left Democratic Front (Kerala)|Left Democratic Front]] government to retain power and the first government to be re-elected since [[1977 Kerala Legislative Assembly election|1977]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kerala Assembly elections: Welfare thrust helps left rewrite history|url= https://www.business-standard.com/article-amp/elections/kerala-assembly-elections-welfare-thrust-helps-left-rewrite-history-121050200715_1.html|access-date=2021-05-02|website=Business Standard}}</ref> On 21st, she took charge as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare as the successor of renowned CPI (M) leader, [[K. K. Shailaja]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Former journalist Veena George replaces KK Shailaja as Kerala Health Minister in Covid era|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/kerala/story/journalist-veena-george-shailaja-kerala-health-minister-covid-profile-1805161-2021-05-21|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Business Standard}}</ref>

===Election candidature history===
====Assembly election candidature history====
{| width="45%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 2px #000000 solid" style="font-size: 94%;"
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Year
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Constituency
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Opponent
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Result
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Margin
|----
|2016
|[[Aranmula (State Assembly constituency)|Aranmula]]
|Adv. K. Sivadasan Nair ([[Indian National Congress|INC]])
|style="background: #98FB98;" |Won
|style="background: #98FB98; |7646<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aranmula Assembly Election 2016 Latest News & Results|url=https://www.india.com/assembly-election-2016/kerala/aranmula/|access-date=2021-05-06|website=India.com|language=en-EN}}</ref>
|----
|2021
|[[Aranmula (State Assembly constituency)|Aranmula]]
|Adv. K. Sivadasan Nair ([[Indian National Congress|INC]])
|style="background: #98FB98;" |Won
|style="background: #98FB98;" |19003<ref>{{Cite web|title=Election Commission of India|url=https://results.eci.gov.in/Result2021/ConstituencywiseS11113.htm?ac=113|access-date=2021-05-06|website=results.eci.gov.in}}</ref>
|}
====Parliament election candidature history====
{| width="45%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 2px #000000 solid" style="font-size: 94%;"
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Year
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Constituency
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Opponent
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Result
! style="background-color:#666666; color:white"|Margin
|----
|2019
|[[Pathanamthitta (Lok Sabha constituency)|Pathanamthitta]]
|Anto Antony ([[Indian National Congress|INC]])
|style="background: #FB9898;" |Lost
|style="background: #FB9898;" |44243<ref>{{Cite web|title=Election Commission of India|url=https://eci.gov.in/files/file/10929-33constituency-wise-detailed-result/}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Veena}}
[[Category:1976 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:University of Kerala alumni]]
[[Category:People from Aranmula]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from Kerala]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 2016–2021]]
[[Category:Journalists from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian Christians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:Indian women journalists]]
[[Category:Indian Marxist journalists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Indian women television journalists]]
[[Category:Indian television journalists]]
[[Category:Indian women television presenters]]
[[Category:Television personalities from Kerala]]

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Veena George