Umman Chandy

Umman Chandy was the nineteenth Chief Minister of Kerala.  Born on 31, October 1943 to K.O. Chandy and Baby Chandy has been at the forefront of the political arena from a very early stage.

He is one of the most prominent and promising politicians in the State of Kerala. He is also a Trade Unionist and presently in charge of various INTUC-affiliated outfits. In the close circles of the Indian National Congress he is noted as the third most important Congress leader in the state after K Karunakaran and A.K. Antony.

Chandy a legal degree holder from Government Law College, Ernakulam initiated his political career through the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and served as President from 1967 to 1969. It happened to be a major breakthrough when he got elected as the President of the State Youth Congress in 1970. He served as the Minister for Labour from 11 April 1977 to 27 October 1978 in A.K. Antony Ministry. He became the Minister for Home from 28 December 1981 to 17 March 1982, in the K. Karunakaran led Congress Ministry.

He has always served a major position both in and put of the party and maintains a steady band of followers. But his fame was shot at the time of his resignation from the K. Karunakaran ministry in 1994, which ultimately led to the downfall of the entire cabinet. From then he has been acclaimed as the second fiddle to A.K. Antony till his coronation as the Chief Minister in August, 2004 within the Congress. He was bestowed the role of Convenor and performed to the highest esteem in the then ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) from 2001 to 2004.

A modern man and known as the first Chief Minister of Kerala with a reformist outlook towards the economy has been representing Puthupally Constituency or the last thirty-six years. He got elected into the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980 and at a stretch from 1982 to 2006. He resigned from the office of Chief Ministership on May 12, 2006 owing to the defeat of his party in 2006 Assembly Elections.