N. Biren Singh was born in Luwansangbam Mamang Leikai, Manipur in 1961.
He is an ardent football fan and was scouted by the Border Security Forces (BSF) football team officials when he was 18 years old.
He was the first player from Manipur to play outside the state and was part of the BSF team that beat Kolkata’s Mohun Bagan to lift the Durand Cup in 1981.
He holds a diploma in journalism and was the editor of the vernacular daily “Naharolgi Thoudang” from 1992 to 2001.
In 2000, he was jailed on sedition charges for allowing publication of a speech by an activist alleged to be close to a separatist group.
He started his political career in 2002 by joining Democratic Revolutionary People’s Party and was elected on the party’s ticket from Heingang constituency.
He switched over to Indian National Congress (INC) in 2003 and was appointed Minister of State Vigilance. He was said to be close to then C.M. Okram Ibobi Singh.
He joined BJP in October 2016 and became the party’s state spokesperson as well as co-convenor of election management.
He was elected as legislative leader of BJP MLAs and approached the Governor with majority legislative members to form the government.
He was sworn in as Chief Minister on 21st March, 2022 a first for BJP in the state and has been serving as the Chief Minister of Manipur for the second term since 2017.