Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
11 May 2021
Deputy
Chief MinisterM. K. Stalin
Preceded byM. K. Stalin
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
In office
16 February 2017  6 May 2021
Governor
DeputyO. Panneerselvam
CabinetPalaniswami
Preceded byO. Panneerselvam
Succeeded byM. K. Stalin
Cabinet Minister
Government of Tamil Nadu
In office
23 May 2016  7 May 2021
MinisterPublic Works
Chief Minister
Preceded byO. Panneerselvam
Succeeded byE. V. Velu
ConstituencyEdappadi
In office
23 May 2015  8 August 2015
MinisterForests
Chief MinisterJ. Jayalalithaa
Preceded byM. S. M. Anandan
Succeeded byDindigul C. Sreenivasan
ConstituencyEdappadi
In office
16 May 2011  7 May 2021
MinisterHighways and Minor Ports
Chief Minister
Preceded byM. P. Saminathan
Succeeded byE. V. Velu
ConstituencyEdappadi
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
10 March 1998  26 April 1999
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byK. P. Ramalingam
Succeeded byM. Kannappan
ConstituencyTiruchengode
Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Assumed office
23 May 2011
Chief Minister
Preceded byV. Kaveri
ConstituencyEdappadi
In office
6 February 1989  13 May 1996
Chief Minister
Preceded byGovindaswamy
Succeeded byI. Ganesan
ConstituencyEdappadi
General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Assumed office
11 July 2022
Deputy
Preceded byJ. Jayalalithaa
Joint Coordinator of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
In office
21 August 2017  23 June 2022
Deputy
CoordinatorO. Panneerselvam
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Headquarters Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
In office
8 June 2016  12 July 2022
General SecretaryJ. Jayalalithaa
Coordinators
Preceded byP. Palaniappan
Succeeded byS. P. Velumani
Personal details
Born
Palaniswami

(1954-05-12) 12 May 1954
Siluvampalayam, Salem district, Madras State, India
(present-day Tamil Nadu)
Political partyAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
SpouseRatha Palaniswami
Children1
Residences
Profession
  • Agriculturalist
  • politician
Awards

Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami (born 12 May 1954) is an Indian politician who is the current leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He served as the 7th chief minister of Tamil Nadu, from 2017 to 2021. He has been the General Secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) since 28 March 2023. Previously, Palaniswami has served as the interim general secretary (2022–23), joint co-ordinator (2017–22) and headquarters secretary (2016–22) of AIADMK.

Born in 1954 in Salem district in the erstwhile Madras State, Palaniswami became an agriculturalist before entering into politics in 1974. Palaniswami has represented Edappadi since 2011 as Member of the Legislative Assembly, previously also serving from 1989 to 1996. In the 1998 Indian general election he was elected as Member of Parliament of the Lok Sabha representing Tiruchengode. Post the 2011 assembly elections, he served as the minister of highways and minor ports in the Jayalalithaa cabinet. After 2016 assembly elections, he also served as the ministry of public works in the cabinet.