[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21077]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATIONS, PRESIDENT PATIL, INDIA'S 12TH PRESIDENT

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this week history was made 
in India. Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil was elected President. On July 
25 she became the first woman to serve as head of state, now serving as 
India's 12th President.
  Mrs. Patil was born in 1934 in the western state of Maharashtra and 
has a distinguished record of public service. Joining the Congress 
Party in the early 1960s, she spent over two decades in the state 
legislature. She then went on to participate in national politics and 
served in both the lower and upper chambers of India's national 
parliament. In 2004 Mrs. Patil became the first woman governor of 
Rajasthan.
  Congratulations, President Patil, for continued success leading 1 
billion citizens.
  As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-Chair of 
the India Caucus, I welcome this achievement. Prime Minister Manmohan 
Singh and President George Bush have developed a strategic partnership 
between India and America. Friendship between the world's largest 
democracy and the world's oldest democracy have never been better. The 
future is bright for both India and America.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th.

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