E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Indian theorist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Kerala (born 1909)

Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, popularly known by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician, theorist, author and statesman who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. As a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), he became the first Chief Minister in India not to be a member of the Indian National Congress. In 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The chief minister of Kerala is the chief executive of the Indian state of Kerala. De facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Kerala Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party with a majority of seats to form the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.