Munisamy Thambidurai (born 15 March 1947) is an Indian politician who served as the

Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the second-highest-ranking authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament of India. He acts as the presiding authority in the event of leave or absence caused by the death or illness of the s ...

and leader of

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party with great influence in the Federated state, sta ...

(AIADMK) in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

, the lower house of the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India (ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President o ...

. He had served as the Cabinet Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs and as the Minister of State of Surface Transport from March 1998 to April 1999. He had also served as the

from 1985 to 1989.

Political career

Thambidurai started his political career as a youth worker and student activist of the erstwhile united DMK in 1965 at the age of 18, when he was in the first year as a student of

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

. He participated in the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 and courted arrest. He worked his way up in the Party as a hard working organizer, starting as a worker at the booth level for Municipal and Legislative Assembly polls in 1967 and 1971 for the DMK, and also as an

Agitprop Agitprop (; from , portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in the Soviet Union where it referred to popular media, such as literatu ...

coordinator in universities and colleges. He was among the founding-members and first generation of the

AIADMK The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK, also abbreviated as ADMK), also shortened to Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory ...

in 1972 when the party split with M.G. Ramachandran. He became an MLA from

Erode Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrativ ...

in 1977, and was first elected as a Member of Parliament to the 8th Lok Sabha in 1984 from

Karur (Lok Sabha constituency) Karur is a Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) constituency in Tamil Nadu. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 23 of 39. Assembly segments From 2009 Karur Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments: ...

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a city in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitting it from ...

and was subsequently elected to the 9th Lok Sabha,

12th Lok Sabha The 12th Lok Sabha (23 March 1998 – 26 April 1999), was constituted after the 1998 Indian general election held during February–March 1998. This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, like the 11th Lok Sabha elections that did not provide the ...

, 15th Lok Sabha and

16th Lok Sabha Members of the 16th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2014 Indian general election. The elections were conducted in 9 phases from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 by the Election Commission of India. The results of the election were declared on 16 May ...

. Also he was elected during Tamil Nadu assembly 2001, 2006

Bargur (state assembly constituency) Bargur is a state assembly constituency in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, India. Its State Assembly Constituency number is 52. It comprises portions of Krishnagiri and Pochampalli taluks and is a part of Krishnagiri Lok Sabha constitu ...

. He also served as minister of Education, Technical Education, Science and Technology, Sports and Youth Welfare, Archeology, Tamil Development and Tamil Culture, Indian Overseas, Refugees and Evacuees. He was portfolio during jayalaithaa 2001 cabinet. Thambidurai contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from

in Tamil Nadu and was subsequently elected as a member of the Indian Parliament. He had been serving as the leader of AIADMK in the Lok Sabha since 2009. He lost in the general elections in 2019 to

Jothimani Jothimani Sennimalai (born 9 August 1975), also known mononymously as Jothimani, is an Indian politician, writer, and social worker. A member of the Indian National Congress, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Karur, Tamil Nadu in 2019. Hav ...

Elections contested and results

Personal life

Dr.M.Thambidurai born in Sinthagampalli village of krishnagiri district

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

belongs to a

Kongu Vellalar Kongu Vellalar is a community found in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology The Vellalar of the Kongunadu, Kongu country came to be known as Kongu Vellalar. They are also known by names such as "Bupaalan", Gangavamsam, Kudiyaanava ...

community which is a majority in some of the Districts of

. He is member of the Trust of Adhiyamaan Educational and Research Institutions, Chennai; St.Peter's Institute of Higher Education and Research Chennai; Lakshmi Sarawathi Educational Trust, Chennai; Kovai Kalaimagal Educational Trust which is managed by his wife Dr. T. Bhanumathi. He has two daughters .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thambidurai, M. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam politicians Law ministers of India Union ministers from Tamil Nadu Deputy speakers of the Lok Sabha Living people Lok Sabha members from Tamil Nadu India MPs 1989–1991 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 2009–2014 People from Dharmapuri district India MPs 2014–2019 People from Krishnagiri district 1947 births University of Madras alumni India MPs 1984–1989 People from Karur district