Naveen Patnaik (Odia: [n̪ɔbin̪ pɔʈn̪ajk]; born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and writer, who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024.

[6] After school, he went to the Kirori Mal College[7] of Delhi University, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.

His mild mannerism, "Stand against corruption" and "Pro-poor policies" have resulted in the development of a huge support base in Odisha, which has voted him to power in the last five consecutive terms.

[12] After the death of his father Biju Patnaik, leader of the Janata Dal,[8] he was elected as a member to the 11th Lok Sabha in the by-election from Aska Parliamentary Constituency in Odisha, India.

[18][19] Patnaik spent most of his early days away from Odisha, so he has problems with writing and speaking fluently in Odia language.

[27] He is the only chief minister of India who does not speak fluently the regional language of his state and because of this, he has been facing severe criticism from his opponents.

Presently, Patnaik has an adequate working knowledge of Odia and he possesses great mastery over Hindi, French, Punjabi, and English.