New Delhi, August 21: Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar will replace Ashok Lavasa as Election Commissioner. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Law and Justice, President Ram Nath Kovid has appointed Rajiv Kumar as Election Commission to fill the vacancy following Ashok Lavasa's resignation. Lavasa, who was next in the line to head the Commission, resigned on August 18.

Lavasa resigned from his post to take charge as Vice-President of the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) next month. Lavasa's resignation comes a month after the ADB appointed him as Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnership. He will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on August 31. New ADB VP Ashok Lavasa Meets Vice President Naidu.

As Election Commissioner, Lavasa grabbed headlines when he registered his dissent on the poll panel's clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then BJP President Amit Shah on alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Who is Rajiv Kumar, The New Election Commissioner?

A 1984-batch IAS officer from Jharkhand cadre, Kumar has widespread administrative experience in more than 30 years of service during which he held various important assignments including the Administrative postings in his home state. The 59-year old took over as the financial services secretary in September, 2017. He was appointed as the administrative head of the ministry of finance in 2019.

Kumar retired as finance secretary in February this year. In April, he was appointed as the chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), the government’s headhunter for top-level posts in public sector undertakings. A lover of Indian classical music and an avid trekker, Kumar holds BSc and LLB degrees, along with a masters in public policy and sustainability.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2020 10:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).