K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times: for a brief period from March 1977 to April 1977, another short term from December 1981 to March 1982, after which president's rule was invoked in the state, and subsequently served from May 1982 to May 1987, and eventually from June 1991 to May 1995. He is the founder of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which is a political alliance in Kerala led by INC.He was instrumental in several massive infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, and the Cochin International Airport, both of which were sanctioned during his last stint as Chief Minister; and were completed ahead of time and within budget. Other major projects introduced during the reign of Karunakaran include the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, Goshree bridges of Kochi, Guruvayur Railway Line, Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Plant at Kayamkulam, etc. The MG University, Kottayam, was created by bifurcating University of Kerala in the year 1983. A special government department for the welfare of Scheduled Castes was formed for first time in the state when K. Karunakaran became the chief minister. It was during the reign of first UDF government (Third Karunakaran ministry), that the last two districts of Kerala, namely Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod, were carved out, making the total number of districts at 14. The first phase of Kollam Bypass was completed in 1993.

K. Karunakaran was close to former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. At the helm of his career in the 1980s and 1990s he enjoyed considerable access, confidence and control at All India Congress Committee to a point that he had an important role in bringing P. V. Narasimha Rao to the Prime Ministership of India. This earned him the sobriquet kingmaker. He played a crucial role in nurturing and strengthening Indian National Congress into a strong political party in Kerala and enjoyed mass support of not just the party workers but the entire Anti communist solidarity that was active in Kerala then. He was called as Leader within the party circles.