Mumbai/UNI: Newly appointed Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais's swearing in ceremony will be held on February 18 at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

According to the official press statement issued last night, Bais will arrive at Mumbai airport on Friday evening and will be received by dignitaries including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Newly appointed Governor Mr Bais is a respected name in erstwhile Madhya Pradesh and present state of Chhattisgarh as well as national politics.

With a long experience of five decades in parliamentary politics, social causes and organization work, Mr. Bais has performed various responsibilities in public life from the post of corporator to the post of Union Minister of State and Governor.

Born on August 2,1947 in Raipur (Chhattisgarh ) and was educated in Raipur.

In the year 1978, he was first elected as a corporator in Raipur Municipal Corporation. He was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Council from 1980 to 1985. During this period, he served as a member of the budget committee of the Madhya Pradesh legislature and then as a member of the library committee. He was also the state minister of Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party from 1982 to 1988.

In the year 1989, Mr Bais was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Raipur. Since then he has been elected to the Lok Sabha as many as six times, i.e. a total of seven times.

In the year 1998, he was appointed as Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel and Mines in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 1999 to 2004, he served as Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers and then as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.

In the year 2003, Bais was given an independent charge of the post of Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Mines and for some time he was Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

During his long parliamentary career, Bais has also served as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, Public Accounts Committee, Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Power, Hindi Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Coal and Mines, Rules Committee etc.

Maharashtra has been blessed with such a versatile personality as its Governor.