Manmohan Singh was only the second follower of Sikhism in office.
Manmohan Singh -LRB- -LSB- mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪŋɡ -RSB- ; born 26 September 1932 -RRB- is an Indian economist and politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014 .. Prime Minister of India. Prime Minister of India. The first Sikh in office , Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term .. Sikh. Sikh. Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru. Born in Gah -LRB- now in Punjab , Pakistan -RRB- , Singh 's family migrated to India during its partition in 1947 .. Gah. Gah, Pakistan. Punjab. Punjab Province ( British India ). its partition. Partition of India. After obtaining his doctorate in economics from Oxford , Singh worked for the United Nations during 1966 -- 69 .. He subsequently began his bureaucratic career when Lalit Narayan Mishra hired him as an advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Trade .. Lalit Narayan Mishra. Lalit Narayan Mishra. Ministry of Foreign Trade. Ministry of Commerce and Industry ( India ). Over the 70s and 80s , Singh held several key posts in the Government of India , such as Chief Economic Advisor -LRB- 1972 -- 76 -RRB- , Reserve Bank governor -LRB- 1982 -- 85 -RRB- and Planning Commission head -LRB- 1985 -- 87 -RRB- .. Government of India. Government of India. Reserve Bank. Reserve Bank of India. Planning Commission. Planning Commission ( India ). In 1991 , as India faced a severe economic crisis , newly elected Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao surprisingly inducted the apolitical Singh into his cabinet as Finance Minister .. P. V. Narasimha Rao. P. V. Narasimha Rao. economic crisis. 1991 India economic crisis. Finance Minister. Minister of Finance ( India ). Over the next few years , despite strong opposition , he as a Finance Minister carried out several structural reforms that liberalised India 's economy .. Finance Minister. Minister of Finance ( India ). Although these measures proved successful in averting the crisis , and enhanced Singh 's reputation globally as a leading reform-minded economist , the incumbent Congress party fared poorly in the 1996 general election .. Congress party. Indian National Congress. 1996 general election. 1996 general election. Subsequently , Singh served as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha -LRB- the upper house of India 's Parliament -RRB- during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government of 1998 -- 2004 .. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Leader of the Opposition ( India ). Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha. Leader of the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition ( India ). In 2004 , when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance -LRB- UPA -RRB- came to power , its chairperson Sonia Gandhi unexpectedly relinquished the premiership to Manmohan Singh .. United Progressive Alliance. United Progressive Alliance. Sonia Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi. Singh 's first ministry executed several key legislations and projects , including the Rural Health Mission , Unique Identification Authority , Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and Right to Information Act .. first ministry. first Manmohan Singh ministry. Rural Health Mission. National Rural Health Mission. Unique Identification Authority. Unique Identification Authority of India. Rural Employment Guarantee. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Right to Information Act. Right to Information Act. In 2008 , opposition to a historic civil nuclear agreement with the United States nearly caused Singh 's government to fall after Left Front parties withdrew their support .. civil nuclear agreement with the United States. U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement. Left Front. Left Front ( West Bengal ). Although India 's economy grew rapidly under UPA I , its security was threatened by several terrorist incidents -LRB- including the 2008 Mumbai attacks -RRB- and the continuing Maoist insurgency .. 2008 Mumbai attacks. 2008 Mumbai attacks. Maoist insurgency. Maoist insurgency. The 2009 general election saw the UPA return with an increased mandate , with Singh retaining the office of Prime Minister .. 2009 general election. Indian general election, 2009. Over the next few years , Singh 's second ministry government faced a number of corruption charges -- over the organisation of the Commonwealth Games , the 2G-spectrum allocation and the allocation of coal blocks .. second ministry. second Manmohan Singh ministry. 2G-spectrum allocation. 2G spectrum scam. allocation of coal blocks. Indian coal allocation scam. After his term ended in 2014 he opted out from the race to the office of the Prime Minister of India during 2014 Indian general election .. Prime Minister of India. Prime Minister of India. 2014 Indian general election. Indian general election, 2014. Singh was never a member of the Lok Sabha but continues to serve as a member of the Indian Parliament , representing the state of Assam in the Rajya Sabha for the fifth consecutive term since 1991 .. Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha. Assam. Assam. member of the Lok Sabha. Member of parliament, Lok Sabha. Indian Parliament. Indian Parliament