New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS): Hockey India (HI) nominated former president Vidya Stokes as the life president in its just-concluded fifth Congress here on Monday.

Stokes, who currently serves as the Irrigation and Public Health Minister of Himachal Pradesh has been nominated for the post in accordance to rule 5.14 of the HI constitution, according to a release. The life president is an honorary post and will not have any powers and will be of an advisory nature. The life president will be an invitee to all the Executive Board and Congress meetings.

"Stokes’ contribution to Indian hockey has been phenomenal, and we all have been seeing this for many years now. It was obvious that no one else but her would do justice to the role of life president with Hockey India," HI president Narinder Dhruv Batra said in a release.

"Her administrative skills are known to all and I am glad that we have nominated her for the post of life president in the 5th Hockey India Congress today."

A member of the Indian National Congress from 1970, Vidya has been involved with hockey for a very long time. She has served as the president of the now defunct Indian Women’s Hockey Association in the years 1984, 1988, 1995 and 2003.

She also currently serves as the president of Hockey Himachal. She was earlier elected as the president HI in 2009.