Conrad Kongkal Sangma born 27^th January, 1978 is the 12^th Chief Minister of Meghalaya, who assumed his office in March 2018.

Conrad is the third child of four children and was raised under the influence and leadership of his father (L) Shri Purno Agitok Sangma, the former Chief Minister of Meghalaya and first Lok Sabha Speaker from North East India.  His brother James P. K. Sangma is the State’s Home Minister and sister Agatha K. Sangma is the Member of Parliament from Meghalaya. Agatha was also the youngest elected MP in the 15^th Lok Sabha.

A graduate from Wharton School of Business and Imperial College, University of London, Conrad Sangma’s tryst in active politics began at the age of 28 as the Campaign Manager for his late father. In 2008, at the age of 30, he contested for the elections in the Meghalaya Assembly and became the youngest Finance Minister of the State. Conrad held the post of Leader of Opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly from 2009-2013. He was elected as the National President of the National People’s Party (NPP) in March 2016, following his father’s demise earlier that year. He represented the prestigious Tura Lok Sabha constituency from 2016-2018.

Conrad represents the National People’s Party, the only recognised National Party from Northeast, India founded by (L) Purno Agitok Sangma.

Conrad’s vision for Meghalaya was shaped extensively by the ideals of his late father in national and state politics. A leader with vision and farsightedness, Conrad embarked on a mission to take Meghalaya forward soon after assuming the office of the Chief Minister in March 2018. 

To ensure accelerated growth and development and to take the State on a fast-track mode, he formulated a structured policy of governance with emphasis on education, health, sports, entrepreneurship and environment. Under his leadership, Meghalaya became the first state in the country to introduce the Water Policy.

True to his belief in a ‘people first government’, Conrad introduced several initiatives for the welfare of the people including setting up of different infrastructure projects in the State. He introduced measures to benefit the rural sector by initiating tangible missions like — the Lakadong Turmeric Mission, Piggery Mission, Diary Mission, Aroma Mission, Organic Mission, etc. Conrad believes in an accountable and outcome-driven government and in order to ensure efficient delivery and implementation of different centre and state Government schemes, he introduced monthly reviews with DCs of all the districts via video-conferencing. He is also the first Chief Minister in India to have a direct helpline for the public to address their grievances.

Starting out his career as a young, aspiring entrepreneur of the region, it is no surprise that entrepreneurship is close to Conrad’s heart. Conrad believes entrepreneurship will not only foster economic growth but also uplift young people and strengthen a sustainable model of employment in Meghalaya without the dependency of government jobs. His government introduced several interventions to help entrepreneurs and young people of the State particularly to handhold and support them through mentorship and market linkages to promote and boost their business. The ‘Entrepreneur of the Month Award’ introduced in 2018 empowers budding entrepreneurs in the State through financial and publicity support. His government also launched the ‘Chief Minister’s E-Champion Challenge’ in 2019 to invite entrepreneurs to share their ideas and support their vision, making their dream a reality. A special policy on Start-Ups to facilitate financing of viable projects was recently approved by the cabinet, which will be adopted in the state soon.

Another ambitious initiative taken by the government is the ‘Smart Village’ Movement, wherein 100 villages in the State will be adopted for implementation of digital enabled services. He launched the ‘Meghalaya Plastic Challenge’, an initiative that brings the community together to collect plastic wastes to build plastic waste roads in rural Meghalaya, supporting the state’s mission since 2018.

A mechanism to directly reach out to the grassroot administration has been initiated by deputing a Minister to every district once in three month on a rotation basis to review and take stock of the ongoing programmes of the State and Central Government. He introduced the ‘Cabinet On The Move’ where he and his Cabinet of Ministers travel to different districts to review ongoing projects and address public grievances.

With his broad worldview, Conrad continues to take that legacy forward for Meghalaya and the North East.