Early life and career

Khonglam was born in Malki, Shillong, Assam (now Meghalaya) on 6 February 1945.^[2] He was the oldest of eight children born to his parents, Richard N. Lyngdoh and L. Khonglam.^[2] He was a doctor, working at Nazareth Hospital and several other government-owned medical facilities in the state.^[2]

Political career

Khonglam represented the Sohra (Cherrapunji) constituency in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly for almost twenty years.^[1][2] He first ran for the Assembly in 1978, but was defeated in the election by an opponent from the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP).^[2] However, Khonglam, an independent won the 1983 state election by defeating an incumbent from the HSPDP.^[2] In 1988, Khonglam lost his seat in the Assembly to an opponent from the Indian National Congress.^[2]

He was re-elected in to the Meghalaya Assembly in 1993 as an independent.^[2] He was re-elected to two more consecutive terms from the same constituency thereafter.^[2] He won re-election during the 1990s as an independent.^[2] Khonglam was elected again in 2003, this time as a candidate for the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP).^[2]

He also headed the Peoples Forum of Meghalaya (PFM) and represented Sohra within the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC).^[3]

Chief Minister of Meghalaya

Khonglam's predecessor, former Chief Minister E.K. Mawlong, was forced to resign from office due to scandal involving the construction of the Meghalaya House in Kolkata.^[1] Khonglam became Chief Minister of Meghalaya on 8 December 2001.^[2] He became the first independent Chief Minister of an Indian state in history.^[2] He became Chief Minister through the support of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by P. A. Sangma, which formed a coalition government with the Congress Party.^[1][2] Khonglam served as Chief Minister until 4 March 2003.^[3]

Later life

Khonglam was defeated for re-election in the 2008 legislative election by Dr. P.W. Khongjee of the Indian National Congress party.^[2]

He suffered from diabetes, which contributed to health problems in his later life, including one documented diabetic stroke.^[2] Khonglam fainted at his home in Laitumkhrah, Shillong, on 22 May 2012. He was taken to Bethany Hospital in Shillong, where he died at 6:30 p.m. IST on 22 May 2012, at the age of 67.^[2] Khonglam was buried in a cemetery in Malki.^[3] Dignitaries in attendance at the funeral included the Meghalaya Deputy Chief Ministers, Bindo Lanong and Rowell Lyngdoh, and Hopingstone Lingdoh, the leader of the Hill State People's Democratic Party.^[3]