Muthuvel Karunanidhi (born Dakshinamurthi, June 3, 1924) is an Indian politician who has served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on five separate occasions. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N. Annadurai, in 1969 and has served as chief minister five times (1969–71, 1971–76, 1989–91, 1996–2001 and 2006–2011). He holds the record of winning his seat in every election in which he has participated in a political career spanning more than 60 years. In the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, he led the DMK-led DPA (UPA and Left Parties) in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to win all 40 Lok Sabha seats. In the following 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, he was able to increase the number of seats for the DMK from 16 to 19 seats, and led the UPA in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, to win 28 seats, even with a significantly smaller coalition. He is also a playwright and screenwriter in Tamil cinema. He is called by his supporters as Kalaignar, "scholar").