Arun Jaitley turns 63, 10 facts to know about Union Finance Minister

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is celebrating his 63rd birthday today. A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of the Upper House of Parliament since 2000, Jaitley has held several ministerial posts since 1999.This is Jaitley's first stint as Finance Minister. He had served as Trade Minister and Law Minister more than a decade ago under the National Democratic Alliance government led by the BJP.Jaitley was born to a family of lawyers, social activists and philanthropists. His father, Maharaj Kishen Jaitley, was also a lawyer.Jaitley did his schooling from the St. Xavier's School (1957-69). He was very passionate about studies, debates, and sports such as cricket. He is a graduate from the Shree Ram College of Commerce and was an active debater and President of the student union of the college.Later he did LL.B. from the University of Delhi (1973-77).Since childhood Arun Jaitley had a great interest in law and politics, and his victory in the election as the President of the Delhi University Students' Union marked the beginning of his political career.Here are 10 interesting facts on India's one of the most meritorious advocates and strategist Arun Jaitely.1. “Jaitley is the BJP face those who matter in Delhi know and turn to,” a bureaucrat in the government said. As the Finance Minister he has prepared to handle affairs as an advocate to introduce fiscal prudence and growth friendly policies.He has called for faster approvals for infrastructure projects and criticized arbitrary tax rulings under the previous government for stifling investment.Arun Jaitley is very close to PM Modi and even now, Modi has kept him close to manage ay uncalled for situations.Even before the election results were declared, Modi had hinted at key position for Jaitley in the government. He said so in his election rally in Amritsar. He said, “Arun Jaitley will be of great help to our government in Delhi”.2. Arun Jaitley has proved to be extremely beneficial for the Prime Minister in several ways. He is polished by his career as a successful and urbane courtroom lawyer. Hence he could prove to be an effective support for Narendra Modi.Arun Jaitley has profound command over the English language and is an excellent orator. There is of course no discrepancy on Modi's oratory skills, but his unpolished English could be managed by Jaitley.Arun Jaitley as a member of the Rajya Sabha was renowned for voicing his opinion and delivering his message in a convincing manner. He knows the art of using words to suit his convenience.3. Arun Jaitley is a key strategist of the BJP hence is came as an embarrassingly astonishing blow when he was defeated in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections where he was contesting from Amritsar.Jaitley was responsible for the victory of many BJP leaders including the Prime Minister himself, but he had never faced one directly. This was his maiden election.He was replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu for Indian general election. Arun Jaitley lost to Congress candidate Amarinder Singh. He was extremely upset by his defeat because it was least expected.But the fact that BJP won by such a huge margin cheered him up.4. Now as Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley's first and foremost uphill task is to deliver a revised budget that deals with the fiscal fallout of India's slowdown and addresses a deficit that former FM P Chidambaram capped.When his party was attacked on the recent price hike, Arun Jaitley responded that the outcome was due to the legacy passed on to them by the UPA government had ruled the nation for a decade. To this vague response a veteran leader of CPI (M) - Sitaram Yechury retorted, “Is this a relay race”?The Narendra Modi- led government has got a mandate and now this is a golden opportunity for them to prove themselves. Arun Jaitley's role as a Finance Minister is going to be a crucial one.5. Arun Jaitley has also previously held the portfolios as the Union cabinet Minister for Commerce and Industry, Law and Justice in the National Democratic Alliance government (1998–2004).As the minister in charge of trade, he led India in talks at the World Trade Organization, blocking attempts by developed countries to gain greater access to emerging markets without reducing agricultural subsidies. He also served as a member to the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank.After the Vajpayee Government came to power, he was appointed Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge) on 13th October 1999.6. Jaitley served as the General Secretary of the BJP in 2002 and then again in 2004. He resigned from the post of General Secretary in 2009 after he was appointed as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha under the party principle of “One Man, One Post”.Jaitley has always emerged as a strategic planner of the BJP, helping his party member Narendra Modi win the assembly election in 2002. As the General Secretary, he managed eight assembly elections, which proved victorious for the BJP. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2012 for his third term. He was the Vice President of the BCCI but resigned after the IPL spot-fixing scandal.7. Arun Jaitley was born to a family of lawyers, social activists and philanthropists. His father, Maharaj Kishen Jaitley, was also a lawyer and they as a family resided in Naraina Vihar, New Delhi.His mother, Ratan Prabha, was a housewife and a social activist at the same time. Arun Jaitley did his schooling from the St. Xavier's School (1957-69).He was very passionate about studies, debates, and sports such as cricket. He is a graduate from the Shree Ram College of Commerce and was an active debater and President of the student union of the college. Later he did LL.B. from the University of Delhi (1973-77).8. Arun Jaitley's heart had always been in politics. Even as a student he took keen interest in political debates, activities and organized events.As the head of student's Union in college he organised and supported activities for the BJP. He himself was an important an vocal member of ABVP, the student wing of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). During the dark period of Emergency in 1975, he was placed under Preventive Detention for a period of 19 months. He fought for civil rights and even participated in Jayaprakash Narayan's campaign against corruption. He further went on to join Jan Sangh, a political party that had spread its wing to counter the Congress party.9. Arun Jaitley has represented multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. in court. He has been practicing law since 1977.He is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court. He is the author of several books on legal and current affairs.He was a delegate on behalf of the Government of India to the United Nations General Assembly Session in June 1998 where the Declaration on Laws Relating to Drugs and Money Laundering was approved. Jaitley's previous clients as a lawyer included L K Advani, Madhavrao Scindia and many others. His quality of developing strategies and plans was recognized by the BJP.Since 2002, he has emerged as a leading party strategist, scripting several of its victories in state elections.10. Arun Jaitley is married to Sangeeta Jaitley, who is the daughter of Giridhar Lal Dogra and Shakuntala Dogra. They have been blessed with two children, Sonali Jaitley & Rohan Jaitley. Both his kids decided to carry the family legacy of lawyers. Arun Jaitley calls his wife Dolly.During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Dolly oversaw the resources of his campaigns. She held nukkad meetings and managed all the affairs without coming in the limelight.For her, managing election campaigns is like managing 30 weddings all at once. Her father was a strong Congressman but she is an all time BJP supporter.