Arjun Munda, who was sworn-in as the fourth chief minister of Jharkhand on Saturday, was involved in the struggle for a separate Jharkhand state besides championing the cause of the tribals, Dalits and the backward classes.
A graduate in social science, Munda is a strong believer in the values of democracy and human dignity.
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He was born on January 5, 1968, to middle class parents at Ghorabandha in Jamshedpur.
Munda, whose father was spiritually inclined and mother deeply involved in social work, entered active politics in the 1980s.
He joined the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and was elected to the legislative assembly from Kharswan thrice -- first on a JMM ticket in 1995.
He won the 2000 assembly polls on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. He retained the seat in the 2005 elections.
He had served as the Minister of Social Welfare in the Babulal Marandi cabinet, the first since the state came into being.
He assumed the hot seat after Marandi, who was forced to resign after a revolt by a section of the Janata Dal (United) legislators in March 2003, to become the second chief minister of the fledgling state.
His second term in office follows the brief stint of barely ten days by JMM chief Shibu Soren, who resigned on Friday after high drama as he failed to proved his majority in the assembly as directed by the Supreme Court.
During his political career, Munda became associated with a number of philanthropic and humanitarian organisations like the Blood Donors Association, Jamshedpur, the Integrated Rural Development Centre, Jamshedpur, the All-Jharkhand Association for the Speech and Hearing-impaired, the All-Jharkhand Yoga Association, the Shaheed Samarak Samity and Binapani High School.
A father of two sons, Munda is an avid fan of all kinds of sports and takes a keen interest in literature dealing with social development.