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Pinarayi Vijayan Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 1, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth21 March 1944

Age80 Years

BirthplacePinarayi, Madras Presidency, British India

ProfessionPolitician

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseKamala Vijayan

FamilySon - Vivek Kiran Vijayan; Daughter - Veena Vijayan

Pinarayi Vijayan Biography

Pinarayi Vijayan is an Indian politician from Kerala, a long-serving leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who has held senior party posts and,‑

Early life and background

Pinarayi Vijayan was born on 21 March 1944 in Pinarayi in what was then the Madras Presidency under British India. He grew up in a modest household in the Kannur region; after finishing school he spent a year working as a handloom weaver to help support his family. He studied at Government Brennen College in Thalassery.

He identifies as an atheist and belongs to the Thiyya/Ezhava community. Vijayan is married to Kamala Vijayan, a retired teacher; the couple married in 1978 and have two children, a son, Vivek Kiran Vijayan, and a daughter, Veena Vijayan. Vivek has worked for HSBC in Abu Dhabi and Veena is an entrepreneur. His parents are Mundayil Koran and Kalyani.

Career

Vijayan entered organised politics in the 1960s, joining the Communist Party in 1964. Early in his political life he was active in student politics, serving as Kannur district secretary of the Kerala Students Federation (which later became the Students Federation of India) and later as president of the state committee. He also served as president of the Kerala State Cooperative Bank.

He has held a sequence of senior party and government roles over decades. From 1996 to 1998 he served as Kerala’s Minister of Electricity and Cooperatives, a period during which the state expanded its power-generation capacity and pursued new projects. In 1998 he was appointed secretary of the CPI(M) Kerala State Committee, a post he held until 2015. He was elected to the CPI(M) Politburo in 2002.

In 2016 Vijayan led the Left Democratic Front, a coalition dominated by CPI(M) and the Communist Party of India, to victory in Kerala and was sworn in as the state’s 12th Chief Minister on 25 May 2016 after winning the Dharmadom assembly seat by a margin of 36,905 votes. He retained the chief ministership for a second term, being sworn in again on 20 May 2021.

As chief minister, Vijayan’s administration launched a range of programmes across health, education, environment and public services. Notable initiatives introduced during his tenure include the Ardram Mission for health sector improvement, the Haritha Keralam Mission focused on environmental and sanitation goals, Project LIFE, and comprehensive education reforms. His government also established India’s first all-woman police squad called the Pink Patrol to assess and enhance safety for women and children in public spaces.

Public profile

Vijayan is widely recognised as a senior strategist and organiser within the CPI(M). Over the years he has been associated with prominent intra-party rivalries and disagreements; at one point he and another senior leader were suspended by the party for making public criticisms of one another, though he was later reinstated. His political career has included moments of controversy and scrutiny: he was named in a 2009 CBI report related to the SNC-Lavalin hydroelectric matter but was removed from the list of accused by a CBI special court in November 2013. Other contentious episodes cited in public records include an incident in 2007 at Chennai airport involving ammunition found in his luggage, remarks directed at a church bishop, and public debate around reported offers of foreign aid during the 2018 floods.

In recognition of administrative performance under his leadership, Kerala received India Today’s Best Big State Award in governance in 2017. Medical and public-health responses mounted by the state during outbreaks also received external acknowledgement; Vijayan and his health minister at the time were honoured by an institute in Baltimore for Kerala’s response to the Nipah virus.

Latest updates

In 2024, the Enforcement Directorate filed a Probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act related to alleged payments to a firm associated with his daughter. Vijayan has described the company’s founding as funded by his wife’s retirement savings and has denied wrongdoing. In a December 2024 report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, he was listed among the state chief ministers with relatively modest declared assets.

Personal details and interests

Vijayan stands about 5 feet 8 inches tall and has salt-and-pepper hair and black eyes. He is known to enjoy reading and watching films. He follows a non-vegetarian diet and has expressed a preference for fish and rice. His favourite actor is reported to be Rajinikanth and his preferred colour is white.

As a public figure, Vijayan’s long career spans student activism, cooperative banking, party organisation and state governance. His life reflects steady advancement through party ranks to the top elected office in Kerala, combined with a public profile shaped by both policy initiatives and political controversy.
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Recent Work

Chief Minister of Kerala (First term)

Became the 12th Chief Minister of Kerala; introduced schemes including Ardram Mission, Haritha Keralam Mission, Project LIFE, comprehensive education reforms and created the Pink Patrol.

2016-2021
Chief Minister of Kerala (Second term)

Sworn in for a second term as Chief Minister of Kerala.

2021
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Career Highlights

  1. Joined the Communist Party in 1964 and rose through student and party ranks
  2. Minister of Electricity and Cooperatives, Kerala (1996–1998)
  3. Secretary of CPI(M) Kerala State Committee (1998–2015)
  4. Elected to the CPI(M) Politburo in 2002
  5. Led the Left Democratic Front to victory and became Chief Minister of Kerala in 2016 and again in 2021
  6. Introduced major state programmes in health, environment and education
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Pinarayi Vijayan born?

21 March 1944

What is Pinarayi Vijayan known for?

Politician

What is Pinarayi Vijayan’s marital status?

Married

Who is Pinarayi Vijayan married to?

Kamala Vijayan