Wellington:Priyanca Radhakrishnan became the first Indian origin person to be sworn in as a minister in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern new cabinet, Gulf News reported.
The 41-year-old Radhakrishnan has been sworn in as the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector.
Radhakrishnan, who was born in Chennai and brought up in Singapore, has her roots in Paravur, Kochi, where her grandfather was a medical professional.
A two-time MP from Auckland, Priyanca came to New Zealand for higher studies and has been in active politics since 2004 with the Labour Party.
Jenifer Rajkumar becomes the first S Asian woman to be elected to NY State Assembly
Washington:38-year-old Indian-American lawyer Jenifer Rajkumar has became the first South Asian woman to be elected to the New York State Assembly.
Jenifer Rajkumar, a Democrat, overcame her Republican rival Giovanni Perna.Rajkumar is Stanford educated and a prominent immigrant rights advocate, she will represent 38th Assembly district of York City in the New York State Assembly. 38th assembly district includes Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and Glendale.
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York state legislature, while the state Senate is the upper house. The assembly consists of 150 seat, and assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. Besides being a lawyer, Rajkumar also serves as professor at the City University of New York. She is also a former New York state government official. (UNI)