Taditui Rangkau Zeliang (born 21 February 1952) is an Indian politician who served twice as the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, a state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, from May 2014 to February 2017 and from July 2017 to March 2018. A leader of the

Naga People's Front The Naga People's Front (NPF) is a regional political party in Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh . It headed the Nagaland government with the Bharatiya Janata Party, as part of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland from 2003 to 2018. NPF ...

, T. R. Zeliang took over the reins as Chief Minister of Nagaland following the shift of

Neiphiu Rio Neiphiu Guolhoulie Rio (born 11 November 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th Chief Minister of Nagaland. Rio has also served as Chief Minister for three separate terms (2002–07, 2007–12, 2012–14 and 2018–till date), making h ...

to national-level politics. T. R. Zeliang previously served as a Member of Parliament, representing Nagaland in the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house of the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of

United Democratic Alliance (Nagaland) The United Democratic Alliance is a state-level political alliance in the Indian state of Nagaland. Background In the run-up to the 2018 Nagaland Legislative Assembly election, the ruling Naga People's Front split over whether to continue its ...

and was former leader of the NPF Legislature Party and former

Leader of Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Nagaland Legislative Assembly Nagaland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Nagaland. Nagaland became a state of India on 1 December 1963 and after election in January 1964, the first Nagaland Legislative Assembly was formed on 11 Februa ...

Early life and education

T. R. Zeliang was born to Rangleu Zeliang at Mbaupunggwa village under

Peren District Peren District is a district of Nagaland, India. With headquarters the town of Peren, the district was formed by the partition of Kohima District in 2003. History The Peren district was originally a sub-division of the Kohima district. It ...

in 1952. A Zeme Naga, T. R. Zeliang matriculated from Don Bosco High School in

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in ...

, Assam and served as the President of Zeliangrong Students Union, General Secretary of Zeliangrong Action Committee and Zeliangrong Youth Organisation while in college. He later entered politics and became the President of Peren District Youth Congress of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

Political career

Zeliang contested the Nagaland Assembly elections of 1982 and 1987 unsuccessfully from 6 Tening Assembly Constituency. He then won from Tening four times in a row beginning with the elections of 1989 as a candidate of the Naga People's Council and subsequently in 1993, 1998 and 2003 as a candidate of the

. He served as

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for Information and Tourism during 1989–90 and as Minister of State for Relief & Rehabilitation from 1994 to 1998. During 1998 – 2003, he was the Minister for Environment and Forests and Geology and Mining under the Ministry of

S C Jamir Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir (born 17 October 1931
PTI (''The Hindu''), 19 July 2008.) is an Indian polit ...

. He formed Nagaland Congress in year 2003 and later merged it into

(NPF). From 2004 to 2008, he was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

to the

from Nagaland. Returning to State politics in 2008, he was Minister for Planning, Geology and Mining, Animal Husbandry and Parliamentary Affairs under the Ministry of

. He contested State elections 9 times out of which he lost the first two elections and won the remaining 7. He won the assembly elections of 2008, 2013 and 2018 from Peren.

Chief Minister of Nagaland

T. R. Zeliang was the

from May 2014 to February 2017 and from July 2017 to March 2018 as 19th Chief Minister of Nagaland. Currently, with 26 legislators in a House of 60, T.R. Zeliang is the legislature leader of the Naga Peoples' Front, the single largest Party in

. In 2022 T.R. Zeliang became the Chairman of

in the opposition less

Government of Nagaland The Government of Nagaland also known as the State Government of Nagaland, or locally as State Government, is the governing authority of the India state of Nagaland and its 16 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Nag ...

References

External links

Profile on Rajya Sabha website
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeliang T R 1952 births Living people Rajya Sabha members from Nagaland Naga people People from Peren district Chief Ministers of Nagaland Don Bosco schools alumni Naga People's Front politicians Nagaland MLAs 2003–2008 Chief ministers from Naga People's Front politicians Nagaland MLAs 1989–1992 Nagaland MLAs 1993–1998 Nagaland MLAs 1998–2003 Nagaland MLAs 2008–2013 Nagaland MLAs 2013–2018 Nagaland MLAs 2018–2023