Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (, born 1 March 1953), often referred to by his initials as MK Stalin, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin has been the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party since 28 August 2018. He served as the 37th Mayor of Chennai from 1996 to 2002 and 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 2009 to 2011. Stalin was placed 24th on the list of India's Most Powerful Personalities in 2022 by The Indian Express. Early life and family Stalin is the third son of 2nd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK Chief M. Karunanidhi, and was born to his wife, Dayalu Ammal. Stalin was born in Madras, now Chennai, on 1 March 1953. Karunanidhi was addressing a condolence meeting for Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who died only four days after his child was born, and thus decided to name his son after Stalin. Stalin studied at the Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School. He completed a pre-university course at Vivekananda College, and obtained a history degree from Presidency College, Chennai of University of Madras in 1973. Stalin was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Anna University on August 1, 2009. Stalin married Durga (alias Shantha) on August 20, 1975, and has two children. His son is Udhayanidhi Stalin, an actor and politician. Udhayanidhi is married to Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, an Indian Tamil film director. His daughter is Senthamarai Sabareesan, an entrepreneur and educationist. She is the director of Sunshine Schools, Chennai. Senthamarai is married to Sabareesan Vedamurthy, an entrepreneur and political strategist. Like his father, Stalin has also publicly disclosed that he is an atheist. But he also said that he is not against any religious beliefs. Politics His political career began in his early teens when he started the DMK Gopalapuram Youth Wing with several friends. As a 14 year old, he campaigned for his uncle, Murasoli Maran, in the 1967 elections. In 1973, Stalin was elected to the General committee of the DMK. He came to the limelight when he was jailed in Central Prison, Madras under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for protesting against the Emergency in 1976. He was beaten up in custody and a fellow DMK prisoner C. Chittibabu died of injuries and police torture while protecting him.