Gurdial Singh Dhillon

Political career

Dhillon was a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly (1952–1967), where he was its Deputy Speaker (1952–54) and its Speaker (1954–62). In 1967 he was first elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament representing Tarn Taran parliamentary constituency. He was elected from Firozpur in 1985. Regarding his time in Parliament, his biography on the Lok Sabha website expresses the following: A man of uncompromising principles, he considered the institution of Parliament to be the temple of democracy and as such had great respect for the House and its traditions and conventions. The rare ability to quickly assess the mood of the House and a pragmatic approach helped him discharge the onerous responsibility of the office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in a dignified way. Dhillon's election as the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council of the IPU was at once a great honour for himself and also for the people and the Parliament of India.

Having undergone heart bypass surgery, Dr. Dhillon died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi on 23 March 1992 following a heart attack.