Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, PhD, is Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Madurai (Central) Constituency in the 15th Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu, and serves on its Public Accounts Committee. He was elected on a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ticket on his maiden attempt in May 2016. He is also the founding Secretary of the DMK's IT Wing. He previously worked as an international investment banker for many years in New York and Singapore, and in the academia. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York, and an MBA (Finance) degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He represents the fourth generation of his family’s engagement in the Dravidian Movement, and is a third generation elected representative, following his grandfather, Sir P.T. Rajan (former Minister and Chief Minister of the Madras Presidency under Diarchy), and his father, P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan (former Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, and Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu.