Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was an Indian diplomat and politician; she was the first female to be elected as 6th Governor of Maharashtra and 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly. She was one of the world leading women in public life in 20th Century.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the daughter of Motilal Nehru and the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru the first prime minister of Independent India. When India was struggling to get independence from British rule, she was one of the several women who stepped forward to fight for the country. She got imprisoned thrice by British government from 1932 to1933, 1940, and 1942 to 1943, after she revolted against the British. In 1953, she was the first woman to be elected president of the UN General Assembly. Between 1962 and 1964, she served as a governor of the state of Maharashtra. In 1978 she served as India's representative to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

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