V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (11 July 1920 – 12 January 2000) was a two-time interim Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He was appointed interim 2nd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in two tenures (3 February 1969 – 10 February 1969 and 24 December 1987 – 7 January 1988). Nedunchezhiyan was finance minister under the governments of C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa.
Nedunchezhiyan was born at Thirukkannapuram on 11 July 1920. He became involved in politics while at Annamalai University and joined the Dravidar Kazhagam party in 1944. In 1949, he and C. N. Annadurai formed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), with the latter as leader and Nedunchezhiyan acting as deputy general secretary until 1955. He was general secretary between 1955-61 and then chairman of the party's general council until 1969.[1]
Nedunchezhiyan was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu in 1962 and in 1967 became a cabinet minister when the DMK took power. He was briefly acting Chief Minister for the state following Annadurai's death in 1969, taking the role until M. Karunanidhi was appointed. He then continued as a cabinet minister in the Karunanidhi cabinet until the DMK lost power in 1976.
Together with Sathyavani Muthu, Nedunchezhiyan left the DMK to form a new political party called the Makkal DMK but this did not last long. The party merged with the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK), which was by then in government, in 1978 and from 1980 Nedunchezhiyan was again a cabinet minister, this time under the leadership of ADMK's M. G. Ramachandran. He held the position of Finance Minister from 1980 to 1987 and once again became acting Chief Minister in the latter year when Ramachandran died. He was a candidate in the subsequent leadership election but lost to Ramachandran's wife, Janaki
