{{Short description|Indian criminal lawyer (1952–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Swaraj Kaushal | image = Swaraj Kaushal (cropped).jpg | caption = Kaushal in 2019 | order = 3rd | office = Governor of Mizoram | 1blankname = Chief Minister | 1namedata = [[Lal Thanhawla]] | term_start = 8 February 1990 | term_end = 9 February 1993 | predecessor = [[Williamson A. Sangma]] | successor = [[Paty Ripple Kyndiah]] | office2 = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]] | constituency2 = [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Haryana|Haryana]] | term2 = 1998–2004 | office3 = Advocate General of [[Mizoram]] | term3 = 1987–1990 | party = [[Haryana Vikas Party]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1952|07|12|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Solan]], Patiala and East Punjab States Union, India<br/>(present-day Himachal Pradesh) | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|12|04|1952|07|12|df=y}} | death_place = [[New Delhi]], [[Delhi]], India | spouse = {{marriage|[[Sushma Swaraj]]|1975|2019|end=died}} | children = [[Bansuri Swaraj]] (daughter) | alma_mater = [[Delhi University]] | occupation = {{hlist|Lawyer|politician}} }}
'''Swaraj Kaushal''' (12 July 1952 – 4 December 2025) was an Indian [[criminal law]]yer practising in [[New Delhi]]. He was designated as a senior advocate by the [[Supreme Court of India]] at age 34, and he became the [[List of governors of Mizoram|Governor of Mizoram]] at the age of 37, serving between 1990 and 1993.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/politics/criminal-lawyer-by-profession-daughter-bansuri-swaraj-was-by-sushmas-side-when-minister-breathed-her-last-2261877.html|title=Criminal Lawyer by Profession, Daughter Bansuri Swaraj Was by Sushma's Side When Minister Breathed Her Last|website=News18|date=7 August 2019|access-date=3 September 2019}}</ref>
==Early life== Swaraj Kaushal was born to Madan Lal and Lajyawati on 12 July 1952 in [[Solan]], [[Patiala and East Punjab States Union]] (present-day [[Himachal Pradesh]]). He received his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree from [[D.A.V. College Managing Committee|D.A.V. School, Chandigarh]] and completed [[LLB]] from [[Panjab University#Faculty of Law|Faculty of Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh]].<ref name="rajya">{{cite web |title=Rajya Sabha Former Members Search |url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/Members/FormerMemberSearch |website=Rajya Sabha Secretariat |access-date=10 July 2022 |quote=The website doesn't provide a direct link. So it can be navigated to the biography page by typing "Swaraj Kaushal" in the search bar}}</ref>
==Career== During [[the Emergency (India)|the Emergency]] of 1975–77, he defended socialist leader [[George Fernandes]] in the famous [[Baroda dynamite case]]. He secured release of the underground [[Mizo people|Mizo]] leader, [[Laldenga]], in the conspiracy trial in 1979.<ref>Making of Mizoram by Suhas Chatterjee</ref> Thereafter, he was the constitutional adviser to the underground [[Mizo National Front]] during negotiations with the Government of India. Many years of negotiations resulted in the signing of the [[Mizoram Peace Accord]], which he helped write on 30 June 1986, which ended 20 years of insurgency. He was appointed the first Advocate General of Mizoram, the state's premier legal officer in 1987 at the age of 34.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chaturvedi |first1=Rakesh Mohan |title=Swaraj Kaushal: Sushma Swaraj's achilles heel or her pillar of strength? |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/swaraj-kaushal-sushma-swarajs-achilles-heel-or-her-pillar-of-strength/articleshow/47670373.cms?from=mdr |access-date=6 December 2020 |work=The Economic Times |date=15 June 2015}}</ref> He was an expert on India's [[Northeast India|northeast region]] and its insurgency problem.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rediff On The NeT: Swaraj Kaushal to hold talks with NSCN (I-M) |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/1998/may/02naga.htm |work=Rediff.com |date=2 May 1998 |access-date=21 September 2020}}</ref>
He was designated as a senior advocate by the [[Supreme Court of India]] on 20 December 1986 at the age of 34, a notable achievement in the legal profession.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/circular/senioradvocates.pdf|title=Supreme Court of India|website=www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in|accessdate=21 September 2020}}</ref>
==Governor of Mizoram== He was the [[Governor of Mizoram]] from 8 February 1990 to 9 February 1993.<ref name=":0" />
==Member of Parliament== He was a [[member of parliament]] between 1998 and 2004 as a member of the [[Haryana Vikas Party]], representing the state of [[Haryana]]. During 1998-99 and 2000–2004, he was a member of [[Rajya Sabha]].<ref name="rajya"/>
==Personal life and death== Kaushal married [[Sushma Swaraj]] on 13 July 1975. Their only child, [[Bansuri Swaraj]], is a graduate from [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] and a barrister from [[Inner Temple]]. On 6 August 2019, Sushma Swaraj died of a cardiac arrest at [[AIIMS Delhi]], following a heart attack that evening.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sushma Swaraj, Former Foreign Minister and BJP Stalwart, Passes Away at 67 After Heart Attack |url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/sushma-swaraj-former-foreign-minister-and-bjp-stalwart-passes-away-2260617.html |work=News18 |date=6 August 2019 |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Sushma Swaraj passes away at 67 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/senior-bjp-leader-sushma-swaraj-heart-attack-aiims-death-1578000-2019-08-06 |magazine=India Today |date=6 August 2019 |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref>
On the afternoon of 4 December 2025, Kaushal complained of chest pain, after which he was brought to AIIMS Delhi, where he later died. He was 73.<ref>{{cite news |title='Reunited with mother': Sushma Swaraj's husband Swaraj Kaushal passes away at 73; daughter Bansuri posts emotional message |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/reunited-with-mother-sushma-swarajs-husband-swaraj-kaushal-passes-away-at-73-daughter-bansuri-posts-emotional-message/articleshow/125766157.cms |work=The Times of India |date=4 December 2025 |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Former Mizoram Governor Swaraj Kaushal Passes Away at 73 |url=https://www.newsonair.gov.in/former-mizoram-governor-swaraj-kaushal-passes-away-at-73/ |work=AIR |date=4 December 2025 |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref> His last rites were performed the same day at the Lodhi Road crematorium.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roushan |first1=Anurag |date=4 December 2025 |title=Swaraj Kaushal, ex-Mizoram governor and husband of late Sushma Swaraj, dies at 73 |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/swaraj-kaushal-former-mizoram-governor-and-husband-of-late-sushma-swaraj-dies-at-73-bansuri-swaraj-shares-emotional-post-pm-modi-tribute-reactions-2025-12-04-1020287 |work=India TV News |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Governor of Mizoram}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaushal, Swaraj}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:2025 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]] [[Category:Governors of Mizoram]] [[Category:Indian Senior Counsel]] [[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Haryana]] [[Category:Haryana Vikas Party politicians]] [[Category:Samyukta Socialist Party politicians]] [[Category:Sushma Swaraj]]