Pattom A Thanu Pillai

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (b. Thiruvananthapuram on July 15, 1885 - d. July 27, 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from February 22, 1960 to September 25, 1962.

He was born to Varada Iyer and Eswari Amma. He worked as a teacher.[citation needed] He earned a degree in law and started practising as a lawyer, but soon became an active participant in the struggle for independence and joined the Indian National Congress, becoming leader of Congress in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore.

His actual name was A. Thanu Pillai. Since he came from Pattom in Thiruvananthapuram, he was called Pattom Thanu Pillai. Popularly he was known as just "Pattom".

The struggle for a responsible government in the princely state culminated in the ousting of the Diwan, Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer. Sir C.P. left Travancore on August 19, 1947. After Indian Independence and before the formation of Kerala state in 1956, he became Prime Minister of Travancore from March 24, 1948 to October 22, 1948. After independence, the princely states of Travancore and Cochin were amalgamated to form Travancore-Cochin State on July 1, 1949.

As a PSP member Pillai became Chief Minister of Thiru-Kochi (or Travancore-Cochin) from March 16, 1954 to February 14, 1955. The State of Kerala was formed on November 1, 1956 and the first state elections held there in March 1957 and resulted in a Communist Party-led administration. Pillai was an MLA for Thiruvananthapuram II representing the PSP.

When the first Kerala administration fell in the onslaught of "Vimochana Samaram" (Liberation Struggle) against the Communist rule and after elections in 1960 Pillai became the second Chief Minister of Kerala as head of a coalition administration. He was in power from February 22, 1960 to September 26, 1962. In 1962, he became the Governor of Punjab. Later he was appointed the Governor of Andhra Pradesh in which role he served from May 4, 1964 until April 11, 1968.