Neiphiu Guolhoulie Rio (born 11 November 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th

Chief Minister of Nagaland The chief minister of Nagaland is the chief executive of the Indian state of Nagaland. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following e ...

. Rio has also served as Chief Minister for three separate terms (2002–07, 2007–12, 2012–14 and 2018–till date), making him the only Nagaland Chief Minister to have served three consecutive terms. 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 o ...

from

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 ...

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

from 2014 to 2018.

Early life and education

Neiphiu Guolhoulie Rio was born on 11 November 1950 to an

Angami Naga The Angamis are a major Naga ethnic group native to the Northeast Indian state of Nagaland. The Angami Nagas are predominantly settled in Kohima District, Chümoukedima District and Dimapur District of Nagaland and are also recognized as one ...

family from Tuophema. His mother and father were Kevilhouü and Guolhoulie Rio. He received his early education from Baptist English School, Kohima and

Sainik School, Purulia Sainik School, Purulia is a Sainik School (military school) established by the Sainik Schools Society in 1962, at Purulia, near Manguria in Purulia district, West Bengal India.http://sainikschoolsociety.org/listofsainik.html The school prepares ...

, West Bengal. He attended college at St Joseph's College, Darjeeling and later graduated from Kohima Arts College. An active student leader during his School and College days, Rio entered politics at a very young age. He had headed many organizations before becoming the Chief Minister of Nagaland. He served as the President of Kohima District United Democratic Front (UDF) Youth Wing in 1974. He was also appointed the Chairman of Northern Angami Area Council in 1984. He also had been the honorary Vice President of

Indian Red Cross Society The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) is a voluntary humanitarian organization to protect human life and health based in India. It is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and shares the Fundamental Principles of the Inter ...

Nagaland branch.

Political career

On entering politics, Rio was first elected to

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 ...

as Congress (I) candidate from the Northern Angami-II constituency during the 7th General Elections of 1989. He was appointed the Minister for Sports and School Education and subsequently as Minister for Higher & Technical Education and Art & Culture; also served as Chairman in Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation, Nagaland Khadi & Village Industries Board and Development Authority of Nagaland. Rio was again elected from the same Constituency in 1993 as Congress (I) candidate and appointed Minister for Works & Housing. As a member 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 E ...

, Rio was Nagaland's Home Minister as part of the cabinet headed by

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

from 1998 till 2002 when he resigned from the ministry accusing Chief Minister S. C. Jamir of blocking a negotiated settlement of the vexed Naga issue. After his resignation, Rio joined

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. NP ...

which partnered with other Naga regionalist parties and the state branch of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

(BJP) under his leadership to form the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN), a coalition which won the 2003 state elections, bringing the 10-year-long rule of the

in the state to an end. Rio subsequently took office as Chief Minister on 6 March 2003. Before completing his first term, Rio was dismissed as Chief Minister when President's Rule was imposed in Nagaland on 3 January 2008. However, his party emerged as the single largest party in the ensuing elections and Rio, as the leader of DAN, was invited by the state Governor to form the government on 12 March 2008. During the 2013 Nagaland State elections, NPF won a thumping majority and Rio was re-elected as Chief Minister for a third term. At a memorial service in Kohima for the victims of 2021 Nagaland killings, Rio said "I am hopeful that the country and the rest of the world will not only understand the Nagas’ story but also the want for lasting peace."

Achievements

Rio has played a key role in setting up the Music Task Force, the first music industry in the country. He was awarded The

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

Millennium award, for his outstanding leadership and contributions to politics in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

in the year 2007.

Personal life

Rio is married to Kaisa Rio. Together they have five daughters and one son. His brother

Zhaleo Rio Zhaleo Rio is a Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party politician from Nagaland. He has been elected in Nagaland Legislative Assembly election from Ghaspani II Assembly constituency in 2013 as a candidate of Naga People's Front and 2018 as ...

was elected to Nagaland Assembly in 2013 and 2019 from Ghaspani II Constituency and was the Deputy Speaker of the assembly in 2018. His mother Kevilhouü Rio died on 1 January 2020, at the age of 92. His father had died 30 years before his mother's death.

References

External links