Sardar Parkash Singh Badal served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2007 to 2017. Earlier, he had also held the office of Chief Minister during 1970–71, 1977–80, and 1997–2002. He is the patron of the Shiromani Akali Dal and led the party from 1995 to 2008. In 2015, the Government of India honored him with the country’s second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.

Born on 8 December 1927 in Abul Khurana village near Malout, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore. In 1970, he became the youngest Chief Minister of any Indian state at that time.

Sardar Badal was first elected as a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1957 and has since been elected ten times as an MLA. In 1969, he was re-elected and became the Chief Minister of Punjab.

He fought vigorously for peace and sovereignty of the nation. During the Emergency of the 1970s, he was jailed under the much-discussed MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) along with other politicians. He also spent several years behind bars during the Akali movement, fighting for the welfare of the people of Punjab.

On 11 December 2011, he was honored by Sri Akal Takht Sahib with the title of “Panth Ratan Fakhr-e-Qaum”. This honor was bestowed on him for his services to the Sikh Panth, including the creation of many heritage monuments such as Virasat-e-Khalsa, and for enduring long imprisonments and facing violence during the Akali agitations.