Credentials: P. Chidambaram

Palaniappan Chidambaram ( (born 16th September, 1945) is an Indian politician and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India.

Chidambaram was born to L. Ct. L. Palaniappa Chettiar and Mrs. Lakshmi Achi in Kandanur in the Sivaganga District, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He was born into the royal family of Chettinad and well affluent business family.

• Chidambaram did his schooling from the Madras Christian College Hr.Sec.School, Chennai.
• After graduating with a B.Sc. degree in Statistics from The Presidency College, he completed his Bachelor of Law (B.L.) from the Madras Law College,
  
• He is a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School,Harvard University.

In 1969, he enrolled as an Advocate in the Madras High Court. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in 1984. He has chambers in Delhi and Madras and practices in the Supreme Court and in various High Courts in India.

He was inducted into the Union (Indian federal) Council of Ministers in the socialist government headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 21 September 1985 as a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Commerce and then in the Ministry of Personnel.

In June 1991, Chidambaram was inducted as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce, a post he held till July, 1992. He was later re-appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce in February 1995 and held the post until April 1996 .

Chidambaram became Minister of Finance again in the Congress party-Communist Party United Progressive Alliance government on 24 May 2004.

On November 30 2008, he was appointed the Home Minister following the resignation of Shivraj Patil who had come under excessive pressure to tender his resignation.