Shillong, April 21: Former chief minister JD Rymbai (88) passed away at his residence at Mawlai Mawdatbaki on Thursday morning.
Local MLA PT Sawkmie condoled the death of veteran political leader with whom he had a long association when he was the chief minister and also holding other positions.
Recently, Chef Minister Conrad Sangma and others visited him at his residence .
From a poor and humble background, Rymbai rose to become a prominent political figure in Meghalaya with his unique qualities of honesty and sincerity.
As he was poor, he could not continue his studies initially but with hardwork he obtained graduation and B Ed which landed the job of a government assistant teacher. Later, he became the head master in a government school.
After entering politics , Rymbai contested and won the Jirang Assembly seat in Ri Bhoi on a Congress ticket, in 1988.
Till 2008, he was elected from the same seat continuously and held the post of Deputy Speaker, Minister, Speaker and went on to become Chief Minister in June 2006 after replacing his loyalist DD Lapang who, however, bounced back to replace Rymbai in March 2007 following the direction of Congress High Command.
He quit the Congress in 2008 and won from UDP from the same seat. In 2013 and 2018, he did not contest the Assembly polls.
He is survived by his wife Peggymon Pathaw, three daughters and two sons.
