Pinarayi Vijayan (Malayalam: [piɳɐraːji ʋid͡ʒɐjɐn]; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian politician who serves as the Chief Minister of Kerala since 25 May 2016.

[9] In 2022, he also became the longest-continuous serving chief minister of Kerala surpassing C. Achutha Menon who had been the first to remain in office for 2364 consecutive days.

After graduating from school, he worked as a handloom weaver for a year before joining for a pre-university course in the Government Brennen College, Thalassery.

During that period, when communists in Kerala were organising the political activities from different hide-outs, Pinarayi Vijayan was imprisoned for one and a half years.

At the age of 25, in 1970 assembly election Vijayan contested from Kuthuparamba and won the seat making him Kerala’s youngest legislator, a record still unbroken.

During the emergency rule, when communists in Kerala were organising the political activities from different hide-outs, many CPI(M) members and leaders including Pinarayi Vijayan was imprisoned for one and a half years.

[22] After his release, Pinarayi Vijayan reached the Kerala Legislative Assembly and made an impassionate speech against senior Congress leader K. Karunakaran holding up the blood-stained shirt he wore when in police custody, causing serious embarrassment to the then C. Achutha Menon government.

[33] Pinarayi Vijayan also became the only Chief minister of Kerala to get re-elected after completing full five year term in the office.

[37] Pinarayi Vijayan was one among the accused in Kerala's first political murder case, of that of Vadikkal Ramakrishnan who was killed by an axe on 28 April 1969.

Though the court acquitted all the accused of lack of evidence, this has been used by various political opponents to portray the violent nature of CPI(M) - RSS conflicts in Kannur which has taken more than 200 lives of supporters from both factions.

[57] As CPI(M) state secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan demanded that the Catholic Church in Kerala withdraw a controversial pastoral letter.

[60] Deep sea fishing controversy over deal between Kerala Industrial Development Corporation (KIDC) and EMCC International India Private Limited.

[62] In 2020, Vijayan faced heat from various opposition parties after several members of the chief minister's office were accused in the 2020 Kerala gold smuggling case.

[64] In May 2021, the Kerala government planned to spend ₹98 lakh to renovate the Chief Minister's official residence, and PWD granted the project to the Uralungal Society without inviting tenders.