Gopalaswami appointed CEC

N Gopalaswami, the senior-most Election Commissioner, has been appointed Chief Election Commissioner by President A P J Abdul Kalam. He will be taking over charge on June 30, a day after the present CEC, B B Tandon, retires.

The Prime Minister had earlier cleared the name of Gopalaswami for the top post. Prior to becoming an Election Commissioner in 2004, Gopalaswami had worked as Union Home Secretary under Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who was also in-charge of Home Affairs.

A gold medalist in Chemistry from Delhi University and 1966-batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, Gopalaswami would have a stint of nearly three years. His term will end in 2009.