Kader Mohideen K. M.

K. M. Kader Mohideen was born on January 5, 1940. His birthplace was Thirunallar, which is in the Pudukkottai District of Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were Mohamed Hanif and Kasim Bibi. He completed his Master of Arts degree in History along with diplomas in Arabic and Urdu at the University of Madras.

Mohideen's professional path was that of an academic and journalist before he completely turned to politics. He was a history lecturer in Rajah Muthiah College of Arts and Science, Chandrasekarapuram, where he eventually was the Head of the Department, and later he quit to enter politics. He worked for and published in Tamil-language magazines such as Mubarak and Darul Quran and wrote books and poems dealing with religion, society, and harmony.

His journey into public life began with the Muslim Students Federation, motivated by the community leader Quaid-e-Millat Muhammad Ismail, and he enrolled in the Indian Union Muslim League as a student during the mid-1950s. In the following years, he performed significant organizational functions within the IUML, starting from the organizer of the student and youth wing to the secretary for educational and cultural affairs, organizational secretary, and general secretary, until he was selected as the National President of the party in 2017.

He was the representative of the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-2009) through a DMK-IUML coalition. During his entire political career, he persisted on the issues of communal harmony, minority representation, and educational upliftment. In 2025, the Tamil Nadu Government honoured him with the Thagaisal Thamizhar Award for his exceptional contributions to Tamil society and culture.

In his private life, he was married to G. Latheefa Begum (who died in 2019), and they had three sons. His extensive career has taken him through academia, journalism, community organization, and political leadership at the state and national levels.