Former Kerala speaker and senior Congress leader Vakkom Purushothaman passed away at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram today. The senior leader was 95.
 
The veteran leader was elected to the Kerala Assembly five times from Attingal Assembly constituency and became a minister thrice. He was the longest-served Speaker of the Kerala assembly, from 1982 to 1984 and again from 2001 to 2004.
 
He was also elected twice to the Lok Sabha from Alappuzha constituency and served from 1984 to 1991.

Purushothaman served as the 6th Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from 1993 to 1996, the Governor of Mizoram from 2011 to 2014 and Governor of Tripura for two months in 2014.