Salhoutuonuo Kruse, the first woman minister of Nagaland, made history in her debut fight

She was one of four women candidates who contested in the Nagaland election. Along with Kruse, Hekani Jakhalu, another NDPP candidate, also won from the Dimapur-III constituency in the February 27 elections for the 60-member assembly of Nagaland.

Salhoutuonuo Kruse was born in 1967 in Kiruphema village in Nagaland into an Angami Naga family. She attended Ministers’ Hill Baptist Higher Secondary School in Kohima and graduated from Kohima College.

Kruse served as the president of the Angamimiapfu Mechu Krotho (now known as Angami Women Organisation) from 2011 to 2014.

She also served as an advisory board member in Angami Public Organisation, the tribe's male-dominated body.

Kruse got married to Kevisekho Kruse, also a politician, on October 2, 1986. Kevisekho died of COVID-19 complications in 2021, at the age of 60. The couple has two daughters.

Kruse is a local hotel owner who turned to politics after her husband's demise. She received support from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, who campaigned for her.

She contested her first election in the 2023 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election. Her late husband also ran from the same constituency and party in the 2018 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election but was defeated by Keneizhakho Nakhro who contested for the Naga People’s Front.

Kruse said that she wanted to win from the constituency and fulfil the visions of her husband.