Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945 ) is an Indian politician and former attorney who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and formerly served as the Union Minister of Finance of India. He was the Finance Minister starting in May 2004 through except for a three-and-a-half year stint - beginning November as Home Minister. Chidambaram returned as Finance Minister in July 2012, succeeding Pranab Mukherjee, who demitted office to become the President of India.