Najma Heptulla

Najma Heptulla
16th Governor of Manipur
In office 24 July 2019 – 10 August 2021
Chief Minister	Nongthombam Biren Singh
Preceded by	Padmanabha Acharya (Addl. Charge)
Succeeded by	Ganga Prasad (Addl. Charge)
In office 26 June 2018 – 26 June 2019
Chief Minister	Nongthombam Biren Singh
Preceded by	Jagdish Mukhi (Addl. Charge)
Succeeded by	Padmanabha Acharya (Addl. Charge)
In office 21 August 2016 – 31 May 2018
Chief Minister	Okram Ibobi Singh Nongthombam Biren Singh
Preceded by	V. Shanmuganathan
Succeeded by	Jagdish Mukhi (Addl. Charge)
11th Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia
In office 26 May 2017[1][2] – 13 March 2023
Vice Chancellor	Talat Ahmad Najma Akhtar
Preceded by	Mohammad Ahmed Zaki
Succeeded by	Mufaddal Saifuddin
Minister of Minority Affairs
In office 26 May 2014 – 12 July 2016
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	K. Rahman Khan
Succeeded by	Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
7th Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
In office 25 January 1985 – 20 January 1986
Preceded by	Shyamlal Yadav
Succeeded by	M. M. Jacob
In office 11 November 1988 – 10 June 2004
Preceded by	Pratibha Patil
Succeeded by	K. Rahman Khan
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 3 April 2012 – 20 August 2016
Constituency	Madhya Pradesh
In office 2004–2010
Constituency	Rajasthan
In office 1980–2004
Constituency	Maharashtra
Personal details
Born	(1940-04-13) 13 April 1940 (age 84) Bhopal, Bhopal State, British India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party (since 2004)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (1960s–2004)
Spouse	Akbar Ali Akhtar Heptulla ​ ​ (m. 1966; died 2007)​
Children	3
Residence	Raj Bhavan, Imphal
Alma mater	Vikram University

Najma Akbar Ali Heptulla (born 13 April 1940) is an Indian politician. She was the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia from 2017 to 2023, until Mufaddal Saifuddin was elected as new Chancellor on 14 March 2023. She was a six time member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, between 1980 and 2016, and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for sixteen years when she was a member of Congress. Later she was nominated vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2012, and was a minister from 2014-2016 as a member of BJP in Narendra Modi's first government. From 2016 to 2021, she served as the 16th Governor of Manipur.

She is a second cousin to actor Aamir Khan and grand niece of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.^[3][4][5] She contested the 13th vice-presidential election held in August 2007 but lost to Hamid Ansari by 233 votes. She took oath as a cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi headed government on 26 May 2014 and was replaced by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in July 2016.