Naveen Patnaik (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician and the founder and president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He was Chief Minister of Odisha for five consecutive terms from March 2000 to June 2024, one of the longest tenures of any Chief Minister in India. A writer who entered politics only at 50, after the death of his father, Biju Patnaik, he was known for his quiet style, his clean image and his state’s much-praised handling of cyclones.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Naveen Patnaik |
| Born | 16 October 1946, Cuttack, Odisha, India |
| Age | 80 |
| Party | Biju Janata Dal (founded 1997) |
| Office | Chief Minister of Odisha (2000–2024); Leader of the Opposition (2024–present) |
| Parents | Biju Patnaik, Gyan Patnaik |
| Education | Welham Boys’ School and The Doon School, Dehradun; Kirori Mal College, Delhi |
| Sibling | Gita Mehta (writer) |
Early Life
Patnaik is the younger son of Biju Patnaik, the aviator, industrialist and twice Chief Minister of Odisha. He studied at The Doon School, where he was a contemporary of Sanjay Gandhi, and graduated in arts from Kirori Mal College. For decades he lived in Delhi and abroad, moving in artistic circles; he ran a boutique, was a founding member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage and wrote three books.
Political Career
When Biju Patnaik died in April 1997, Naveen won the by-election for his father’s Lok Sabha seat, Aska. In December 1997 he founded the Biju Janata Dal, which allied with the BJP. He was Union Minister of Steel and Mines in Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s government.
The alliance won the state election held a few months after the super-cyclone of 1999, which had killed about 10,000 people, and Patnaik became Chief Minister on 5 March 2000. He ended the alliance with the BJP in 2009 after anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal and went on to win on his own in 2009, 2014 and 2019. His government built a disaster-response system that evacuated about a million people before Cyclone Phailin in 2013, keeping deaths very low. It supplied rice at one rupee a kilo, promoted women’s self-help groups through Mission Shakti and reserved a third of party tickets for women in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Odisha has sponsored India’s national hockey teams since 2018 and hosted the Hockey World Cup in 2018 and 2023.
In the June 2024 election the BJP won a majority in Odisha and the BJD lost power after 24 years. Patnaik became Leader of the Opposition.
Personal Life
Patnaik is unmarried. He spoke little Odia when he entered politics and has often been teased for it, yet he remained popular for more than two decades.
Books
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Naveen Patnaik born?
Naveen Patnaik was born on 16 October 1946 in Cuttack, Odisha, India and is 80 years old.
Featured image: Naveen Patnaik, then Chief Minister of Odisha, recording a message for the health charity TeachAIDS at his home in Bhubaneswar, 2013. Photo by TeachAIDS, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
