Ri Tae Nam was born on March 26, 1938, in Yomju County, North Pyongan Province.

At that time he also became the Vice Premier in the Cabinet of North Korea, which he remained until April 2011.

[1] A deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly during the 9th 10th and 11th convocations, he sat on the SPA Budget Committee in the last two terms.

Pursuant to the provisions of the 3rd Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea, on September 28, 2010, he was elected a candidate member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee.

[2] After the death of Kim Jong Il in December 2011, Ri T'ae Nam was in a high, 28th place in the 232-person Funeral Committee.