✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › A. K. Antony

A. K. Antony biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

A. K. Antony Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 4, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth28 December 1940

Age84 Years

BirthplaceCherthala, Travancore, British India (now Cherthala, Kerala, India)

ProfessionPolitician

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseElizabeth Antony

FamilySons: Anil Antony, Ajith Paul Antony

A. K. Antony Biography

A. K. Antony is a veteran Indian politician from Kerala who served three times as Chief Minister of the state and for eight continuous years as India’s the

Early life and background

Arackaparambil Kurian Antony was born on 28 December 1940 in Cherthala, then part of Travancore in British India. He grew up in a Syrian Christian family in Cherthala and completed his schooling locally at Holy Family Boys High School and Government Boys High School. Antony went on to study at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, and later obtained a Bachelor of Law from Government Law College, Ernakulam.

During his student years Antony became active in campus and youth politics. He held student union posts at school and college and rose through the ranks of the Kerala Students Union, serving as its treasurer and later its state president. These early experiences shaped a lifelong engagement with public affairs and labour and youth movements.

Career

Antony’s political career spans several decades and many leadership roles within the Indian National Congress and its splinter groups. He served as President of the Kerala Pradesh Youth Congress Committee in the late 1960s and moved into senior state party positions, including multiple terms as President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

He entered electoral politics with his election to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Cherthala in 1970 and again in later years. In 1977, following political upheaval in the state, he became Kerala’s youngest Chief Minister at 37 after winning a by-election from Kazhakoottam. He led the state government on three separate occasions: from April 1977 to October 1978, from March 1995 to May 1996, and from May 2001 to August 2004.

At the national level Antony served in several party and government roles. He was General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee in the mid-1980s, became a member of the Congress Working Committee in 1992, and held positions on central AICC panels such as the Disciplinary Action Committee and the Central Election Committee. He also served briefly as Minister for Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution in 1994 and as AICC acting treasurer in the mid-1990s.

Antony represented Kerala in the Rajya Sabha for five terms between 1985 and 2022. In October 2006 he was appointed India’s Defence Minister and retained that portfolio after the 2009 general election, serving continuously until May 2014. His eight-year stint made him the longest-serving Defence Minister of India in continuous service.

Public profile

Throughout his public life Antony cultivated a reputation for probity and restraint. He has been widely described as having a simple and unostentatious style of politics, and his conduct while holding office drew praise for rejecting certain customary perks and for an emphasis on transparency. He is known to follow the social teachings of Sree Narayana Guru and has described himself as an atheist.

Antony’s tenure in public office encountered controversies and criticism, particularly during his years as Defence Minister, when a number of high-profile scandals and administrative crises affected the armed forces’ leadership and procurement processes. He also resigned from a ministerial post in 1994 on moral grounds when his ministry was involved in a sugar import controversy, despite not being personally accused.

Outside politics, Antony has been involved in philanthropic work. He founded Vidyadhanam Trust, an organisation that runs education-centred initiatives such as mid-day meal and sponsorship programmes, motivational book distribution, and affordable housing projects targeted at underprivileged communities.

Personal life

Antony is married to Elizabeth Antony, a practising lawyer. The couple have two sons, Anil Antony and Ajith Paul Antony. He has faced health challenges such as spondylitis and follows an annual ayurvedic treatment regimen during the Malayalam month of Karkidakam.

Latest updates

Antony was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha for a fifth term in April 2016 and completed that tenure in April 2022. After the end of his last term he announced that he was stepping away from parliamentary politics.

He continues to be remembered in Kerala and national circles for a long public career that combined state leadership, national ministry responsibilities and a profile built around personal austerity and organisational work in education and welfare.
◈

Recent Work

Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (fifth term)

Elected to the Rajya Sabha on 3 April 2016; term ended 2 April 2022.

2016-2022
Defence Minister of India

Served as Defence Minister from 26 October 2006 to 26 May 2014, retaining the portfolio after the 2009 general election.

2006-2014
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Three-time Chief Minister of Kerala (1977–1978; 1995–1996; 2001–2004)
  2. Five-term Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (1985–2022)
  3. Longest-serving continuous Defence Minister of India (2006–2014)
  4. Multiple leadership roles in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and All India Congress Committee
?

Frequently Asked Questions

When was A. K. Antony born?

28 December 1940

What is A. K. Antony known for?

Politician

What is A. K. Antony’s marital status?

Married

Who is A. K. Antony married to?

Elizabeth Antony