M. Karunanidhi

Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative AssemblyIn office
22 May 2011 – 7 August 2018Preceded byU. MathivananSucceeded byK. Poondi KalaivananConstituencyThiruvarurIn office
22 May 1996 – 21 May 2011Preceded byZeenath ShreiffdeenSucceeded byconstituency abolishedConstituencyChepaukIn office
27 January 1989 – 1 July 1991Preceded byA. SelvarajanSucceeded bySelvarasamConstituencyHarbourIn office
30 June 1977 – 18 August 1983Preceded byconstituency establishedSucceeded bySo. Ma. RamachandranConstituencyAnna NagarIn office
25 February 1967 – 31 January 1976Preceded byMunu AdhiSucceeded byD. PurushothamanConstituencySaidapetIn office
24 February 1962 – 25 February 1967Preceded byA. Y. S. Parisutha NadarSucceeded byA. Y. S. Parisutha NadarConstituencyThanjavurIn office
1 April 1957 – 24 February 1962Preceded byconstituency establishedSucceeded byV. RamanathanConstituencyKulithalaiMember of the Tamil Nadu Legislative CouncilIn office
30 March 1984 – 1 November 1986Leader of the HouseR. M. VeerappanPreceded byK. A. KrishnaswaySucceeded byposition abolishedConstituencyElected by MLAs1st President of Dravida Munnetra KazhagamIn office
27 July 1969 – 7 August 2018General SecretaryPreceded byposition establishedSucceeded byM. K. StalinPersonal detailsBornMuthuvel Karunanidhi
(1924-06-03)3 June 1924
Died7 August 2018(2018-08-07) (aged 94)
Resting placeKalaignar Karunanidhi NinaividamPartyDravida Munnetra KazhagamJustice Party, Dravidar Kazhagam (before 1949)SpouseChildren6, including Muthu, Alagiri, Stalin and KanimozhiRelativesKarunanidhi familyHonorary Doctorate (1971)SignatureWebsitekalaignar.dmk.inNickname(s)Kalaignar, Mutthamizh ArignarEn uyirinum melana anbu udan pirappukkale
("My beloved siblings who are esteemed loftier than my life")

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018), popularly known as Kalaignar was an Indian politician, writer and screenwriter who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms between 1969 and 2011 and was the longest-serving chief minister in the state's history. He was the ten-time president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for nearly five decades and a leading figure in the Dravidian movement. He was noted for his contributions to Tamil literature, which include plays, novels, poems, and a multi-volume memoir.

Born in Thirukkuvalai in 1924, Karunanidhi was politically active from adolescence, participating in the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40 and founding the Dravidian movement's first student wing. He pursued a parallel career in the Tamil film industry as a screenwriter, composing the dialogue for landmark films including M. G. Ramachandran's debut as a lead, Rajakumari, and Sivaji Ganesan's debut, Parasakthi. He used his writing to propagate the rationalist and egalitarian ideals of Periyar and DMK founder C. N. Annadurai, and was himself an avowed atheist and rationalist.

Karunanidhi entered the Madras state legislature in 1957 and succeeded Annadurai as DMK president and Chief Minister following the latter's death in 1969. Over the following four decades, his political career was characterised by shifting alliances with national parties — the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the United Front — and by sustained rivalry with the AIADMK, particularly its leader J. Jayalalithaa. His government was dismissed in 1991 over alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and he was controversially arrested in 2001 on Jayalalithaa's orders. He returned to power in 1996 and again in 2006, completing his final term in 2011.

As Chief Minister, Karunanidhi championed increased state autonomy, caste-based affirmative action, and subsidies for the poor, policies that were widely adopted elsewhere in India and cemented his support among lower-caste communities. He was instrumental in securing classical language status for Tamil and in commissioning the 133-foot Thiruvalluvar Statue at Kanyakumari. He was also frequently accused of nepotism and of lending political support to the LTTE. Karunanidhi died on 7 August 2018 at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after prolonged age-related illnesses.