Shri. Arif Mohammed Khan was born on 18 November 1951 in   Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.  He received his B.A (Hons) form Aligarh Muslim University (1972-73) and LLB from Lucknow University, Uttar Pradesh (1977).

Shri. Arif Mohammed Khan started his political career as a student leader and led the Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union  as General Secretary, during 1972-73 and President during 1973-74. 

He became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh in 1977 at the age of 26, from the Siyana constituency, Bulandshahar.  Shri. Arif Muhammad Khan was elected to the seventh Lok Sabha from Kanpur in 1980. He was again elected as a Member of Parliament from the Bahraich constituency during the 8^th, 9^th and 12^th Lok Sabha.

Shri. Khan's administrative capabilities were nationally noted during his ministerial tenures. As Union Cabinet Minister, Shri. Arif Mohammed Khan held the portfolios of Energy and Civil Aviation during 1989- 90. Earlier, he had also served as Deputy Minister, Information and Broadcasting (1982-83) and Union Minister of State, holding portfolios such as Agriculture (1983-84), Energy (1984 and 1985-86), Industry and Company Affairs (1984-85) and Home Affairs (1985). 

Shri. Khan was a member of the Kendriya Hindi Samiti during 1980-82.  As a Member of Parliament, he worked on the Parliamentary Committees on Public Undertakings, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.

Shri. Arif Mohammed Khan is the author of Text and Context: Quran and Contemporary Challenges, published in 2010. He is also a well known writer and columnist on various matters including religious reforms. A voracious reader, his lectures on various topics are very popular among universities and other audiences across the country. 

Shri. Khan, who has travelled extensively, had led the Indian delegation to the   Non-aligned Information Ministers Conference in 1982and to the World Economic Forum, Switzerland in 1990. He was also member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the 100^th IPU Conference in Moscow,in 1998.

He is married to Smt. Reshma Arif and they have two sons - Shri. Mustafa Arif, who is an advocate and Shri. Kabeer Arif, a Pilot by training and currently pursuing his passion of organic farming in Uttar Pradesh. 

Shri. Arif Muhammad Khan assumed office as the 22^nd Governor of Kerala on 06^th September 2019.