New Delhi: HS Bramha took over as India's new Chief Election Commissioner on Friday.

He succeeded VS Sampath, who demitted office after nearly six years in the post.

A 1975 batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Bramha hails from Assam.

Hari Shankar Brahma will be the Chief Election Commissioner of India till April 18, 2015.

Born on April 19, 1950, Brahma retired as Union Power Secretary in April 2011.He is the second person from the North-East to become a Chief Election Commissioner, the first being JM Lyngdoh.

Brahma completed his post-graduation in political science from Gauhati University in Assam) and graduated from St Edmund's College, Shillong. He did his schooling from Don Bosco School, Guwahati.

While serving the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Government of India, Brahma has held various senior level posts. Before retiring as Power Secretary, Brahma held posts such as Joint Secretary (Border Management) for more than four years and completed almost all the border fencing and other border infrastructural work on Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders.

He also worked as Special Secretary and Additional Secretary in National Disaster Management Authority. He was the Member-Secretary of the State Electricity Board, Andhra Pradesh.

He also worked as district collector and magistrate for four years; commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad for three-and-a-half years; commissioner (Transport) and ex-officio secretary (Transport, Road and Building), Government of Andhra Pradesh for two-and-a-half years; commissioner and ex-officio secretary (Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs) for five years and Principal Secretary (Environment, Forest, Science and Technology), Government of Andhra Pradesh.