Bihar Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi [Images], is a strong follower of his grandfather's ideologies and a seasoned bureaucrat with long experience in political and constitutional matters.

Born on April 22, 1945, Gandhi became an Indian Administrative Service officer in the year 1968 after completing his masters in English Literature from St. Stephen's College in New Delhi. He served in different capacities in Tamil Nadu.

He was secretary to the Vice-President of India from 1985 to 1987 and joint secretary to the President of India from 1987 to 1992.

Gandhi took voluntary retirement from IAS in 1992 and became minister (Culture) in the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom, and director the Nehru Centre in London [Images]. He was appointed as high commissioner for India in South Africa in 1996.

Later, he became secretary to the President of India in 1997. He was appointed High Commissioner for India in Sri Lanka [Images] in 2000 and Ambassador of India in Norway in 2002.

Gandhi, who took the office of the Governor of West Bengal on December 14, 2004, is a man with a taste for literature. A novel Refuge and a play in English verses Dara Shukoh on the life of Emperor Shah Jahan's eldest son were the result of his passion for literature.

Besides English, Gandhi has good command over Hindi and he took oath as governor of Bihar in Hindi, Gujarati and Tamil.