Shri Sushilkumar Shinde completed his education with an Honours Degree in Arts and in Law. After serving for 15 long years in Government in different capacities, he dedicated himself for social work. He contested and won the elections to Maharashtra Legislative Assembly form Solapur consecutively in 1974, 1977, 1980, 1985 and in 1990. He was inducted in the state cabinet as Minister of State the very first year after being elected to Assembly in 1974.
He continued to be a Cabinet Minister in Maharashtra Government right upto May, 1992. During his long spell as Cabinet Minister in Maharashtra, he served the people through various important portfolios like Finance, Planning, Industry, Urban Development, Youth and Social Welfare, Sports, Transport, Health and Labour. He presented nine successive Budgets in Maharashtra Assembly as Finance Minister.
He was appointed as President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee for two terms in 1990-1991 and in 1995-1996. On being appointed as General Secretary of AICC (I), he resigned from Maharashtra Cabinet in May, 1992. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in June, 1992. As a parliamentarian in Rajya Sabha, he was among the top questioners. Rev.Mother Teresa presented National Citizen Award to him for his outstanding performance in Rajya Sabha. In 1998, while he was in Rajya Sabha, he contested for Lok Sabha from Solapur General Constituency and won with a large margin. The same was repeated in 1999 during General Elections.
He had to resign from Lok Sabha as he was given the responsibility of being the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 18th January, 2002. Consequently, he contested again from South Solapur General Constituency and result was as expected, a large victory. Since 1990, he is being elected continuously from an unreserved seat, a testimony that enjoys the confidence and respect of all the sections of the society. In different responsibilities, he represented India in United Nations and at other International fronts. As Minister of Labour in Maharashtra Cabinet, he led the Indian delegation to ILO in 1979 at Geneva.
On the 40th Anniversary of United Nations in 1985, he represented India along with Former Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi. In 1997, he was a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and again in May-June, 2000. Shri Shinde traveled widely and toured more than 30 countries. An ardent lover of literature, Shri Shinde authored three books, one in Hindi and two in Marathi. An endearing personality with a pleasant disposition, Shri Shinde is fond of stage dramas with keen interest in farming and concerned for public issues pertaining to vulnerable social groups. He assumed office of Governor of Andhra Pradesh on 4th November, 2004.