Rajasthan Government named Senior IAS officer and additional chief secretary (finance) CK Mathew as new chief secretary of Rajasthan. He will replace Salauddin Ahmed, who is retiring on February 29. A 1977-batch IAS officer, Mathew has held several important positions in the past. He is said to be among chief minister Ashok Gehlot's favourite officers due to his efficient but low-key style of working. Mathew was the secretary to Ashok Gehlot during his first stint as chief minister in state. During the previous Gehlot government, Mathew was closely associated with the CM as a secretary in his office. He started his administrative career in 1979 as sub divisional officer (SDO) in Udaipur. Thereafter he became the Collector of Barmer and Bhilwara.
About CK Mathew: Mr. Mathew, born in July 1954 hails from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. He is a postgraduate in English Literature, is an author of books and a compulsive blogger. “I am a Leo, but more tabby than lion. The home and hearth is where I am most comfortable. I love to read; dabble in writing. I feel good with music playing on the stereo most of the day,” his self-introduction in his blog ‘Mathewscape' says. Hailing from a family of civil servants — his father Kochu Koshy, who is 90 now, retired as chairman of the then Kerala Electricity Board and his brother is in the Civil Service — Mr. Mathew's dabbling in writing and blogging appears to be an escape from the ennui, if not cynicism, of being a bureaucrat for long.