The Ist Speaker of the Uttaranchal Vidhan Sabha, Shri Prakash Pant, was born on 11 November, 1960 to Shri Mohan Chand Pant and Shrimati Kamala Pant.

His family hails from Gangolihat in Pithoragarh, and he is presently a resident of Kharkote, Pithoragarh.

He is married to Shrimati Chandra Pant.

Shri Pant has a diploma in Pharmacy and was in government service till 1984, when he resigned and began his own practice. He worked primarily among the Dalits, weaker sections and the poor.

Shri Pant began his political career as a student in Government P.G. College, Pithoragarh, with his election as General Secretary of the Military Science Association in 1977.

He resigned from government service in 1984 as he could not participate actively in social work.

In December 1984, he formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the 1989 elections to the Pithoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad (Municipal Council), he won with the largest margin of votes, with all his rivals having to forfeit their security deposits.

In 1998, he contested the elections to the UP Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) from the Kumaon Local Urban Bodies’ Constituency. He obtained the highest number of votes in UP and all his rivals had to, once again, forfeit their security deposits.

The young Speaker has travelled widely. He was a member of the World Study Tour under the aegis of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, UP Branch, which included visits to China, Japan and Canada.

His specialisations include the study of medicine and the Panchayati Raj system.

Shri Prakash Pant’s interests are social service, study, travel, medical service and literature.