An economist, he was a government advisor (1971–76), a director of the Reserve Bank of India (1976–80), and subsequently its governor (1982–85). From 1991–1996 he was Minister of Finance in the Congress government of P. V. Narasimha Rao and carried out a comprehensive programme of liberal market-oriented economic reforms. He unexpectedly became Prime Minister following the 2004 elections when Sonia Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, declined the position. While his personal standing remained high, the Congress administration became increasingly unpopular as a result of corruption scandals, slowing economic growth and high inflation. He indicated that he would not continue as Prime Minister after the 2014 elections, which Congress went on to lose catastrophically. He was succeeded by Narenda Modi (b. 1950), of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).