J. Jayalalithaa

Born

February 25, 1948

Died

December 5, 2016 · age 68

From

Melkote, Mysore State, India

Jayaram Jayalalithaa was an Indian politician and film actor who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for over fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. From 1989 she was the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a Dravidian party whose cadre revered her as their Amma (mother) and Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader) . Her critics in the media and the opposition accused her of fostering a personality cult and of demanding absolute loyalty from AIADMK legislators and ministers, who often publicly prostrated themselves before her