Pinarayi Vijayan was born as the youngest son of Maroli Koran and Kalyani on 21st March 1944. After successfully completing his schooling from Pinarayi Saradavilasam Lower Primary School and Peralassery High School, Pinarayi Vijayan worked as a handloom weaver for a year. In 1962, he joined the Government Brennen College, Thalassery for pre university studies. From 1964, he did his Bachelor of Arts studies in Economics.
Pinarayi Vijayan was a member of the Kerala Students Federation and was very active in the students’ movement during his college days. He has served as the president of KSF and Kerala State Youth Federation (KSYF). Pinarayi Vijayan joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1964. In 1968, at the age of 24, he was elected to the Kannur district committee of CPI(M). Four years later he became a member of the Kannur district secretariat. Pinarayi Vijayan was elected to the CPI(M) Kerala state committee in 1978. He was elected as the CPI(M) Kannur district secretary in 1986.
Pinarayi Vijayan has been a member of CPI(M) state secretariat since 1988. He was elected as the Kerala state secretary of CPI(M) in 1998 following the demise of the then state secretary Chadayan Govindan and remained in that position till 2015. Pinarayi Vijayan has been a member of the Polit Bureau of CPI(M) since 2002.
During Pinarayi Vijayan’s tenure as the Power and Cooperation Minister in the LDF Government from 1996, the state witnessed a phenomenal increase in power generation. Significant enhancement was achieved in distribution capacity of the state’s various power projects, thus ushering in a new era in its electricity sector. His administrative acumen and experience as a well grounded politician who understood the needs of people, helped him to introduce various revolutionary initiatives in the state cooperative sector. He was president of the Kannur District Cooperative Bank from 1983 to 1992. Pinarayi Vijayan was the guiding spirit behind the formation of RUBCO as well.