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The Main Gate of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of thePresident of India

List of Presidents of IndiaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The President of India is the head of stateand first citizen of India. The President isalso the Commander­in­Chief of the IndianArmed Forces.[1] Although the president isvested such powers by the Constitution ofIndia, the position is largely a ceremonialrole and the executive powers are de factoexercised by the Cabinet Ministers andPrime Minister.[2] The post of President isknown in Hindi as Rashtrapati, a Sanskritneologism meaning "lord of the realm". ThePresident is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, LokSabha and Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies.[1]

There have been 13 presidents of India since the introduction of the post in 1950. The post was establishedwhen India was declared as a republic with the adoption of the Indian constitution.[3] Apart from these thirteen,three acting presidents have also been in office for short periods of time. Varahagiri Venkata Giri becameActing President of India in 1969 following the death of Zakir Hussain, who died in office. Giri was electedPresident a few months later. He remains the only person to have held office both as a president and actingpresident. The President may remain in office for a tenure of five years, as stated by article 56, part V, of theconstitution of India. In the case where a president's term of office is terminated early or during the absence ofthe president, the vice president assumes office. By article 70 of part V, the parliament may decide how todischarge the functions of the president where this is not possible, or in any other unexpected contingency.[1]

Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, is the only person to have held office for two terms.[4]

Seven presidents have been members of a political party before being elected. Six of these were active partymembers of the Indian National Congress. The Janata Party has had one member, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, wholater became president. Two presidents, Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, have died in office. Theirvice­presidents functioned as acting president until a new president was elected. Following Hussain's death, twoacting presidents held office until the new president, Varahagiri Venkata Giri, was elected. Varahagiri VenkataGiri himself, Hussain's vice president, was the first acting president. When Giri resigned to take part in thepresidential elections, he was superseded by Muhammad Hidayatullah as acting president.[5] The currentPresident is Pranab Mukherjee elected on 25 July 2012. Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministryfor the Government of India such as Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and DeputyChairman of the Planning Commission. He originally comes from West Bengal and is also the first Bengali tohold the post of the President.[6] The ex­ president, Pratibha Patil, who was in office till 25 July 2012, waselected as the 12th President of India in 2007. She is also the first woman to serve as President of India.[7]

Contents

1 Presidents2 See also3 References4 External links

Presidents

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This list is numbered based on Presidents elected after winning an Indian Presidential election. The terms ofVarahagiri Venkata Giri, Muhammad Hidayatullah, and Basappa Danappa Jatti, who have functioned as actingpresidents, are therefore not numbered. The President of India does not represent any political party. Thecolours used in the table indicate the following:

Colour key

President of India

Acting President of India (*)

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Name(Birth–Death) Portrait Elected Took office Left office Vice President

1 Rajendra Prasad(1884–1963)

19521957

26 January1950 12 May 1962 Sarvepalli

RadhakrishnanPrasad, from Bihar, was the first President of independent India, andalso the longest­serving President, for 12 years.[8][9] He was also afreedom fighter during the Indian independence movement.[10] Prasadwas the only president to serve two terms in office.[4]

2 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan(1888–1975)

1962 13 May 1962 13 May 1967 Zakir HusainRadhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer and also heldthe position of vice chancellor of the Andhra University and BanarasHindu University.[11] He was also made a Knight of the Golden Armyof Angels by Pope Paul VI. He received Bharat Ratna award in 1954before becoming the President.[12] He was the first President fromSouth India.

3 Zakir Husain(1897–1969)

1967 13 May 1967 3 May 1969 Varahagiri VenkataGiri

Hussain was vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and arecipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.[13] He died in office,the first to do so. He was also the shortest­serving President. He wasalso the first Muslim President.

– Varahagiri Venkata Giri *(1894–1980)

– 3 May 1969 20 July 1969 –He was elected Vice President of India in 1967. Following the deathof President Zakir Hussain, Giri was appointed as Acting President ofIndia.[14] He resigned in a few months to take part in the presidentialelections.[5]

–Mohammad Hidayatullah

*(1905–1992)

– 20 July 1969 24 August1969 –

Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India, and was a recipientof the Order of the British Empire.[15] He served as Acting Presidentof India until the election of Giri as the President of India.

4 Varahagiri Venkata Giri(1894–1980)

1969 24 August1969

24 August1974 Gopal Swarup Pathak

Giri is the only person to have served as both an acting president andpresident of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and hasfunctioned as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner toCeylon (Sri Lanka).[16]

5 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed(1905–1977)

1974 24 August1974

11 February1977

Basappa DanappaJatti

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed served as a Minister before being elected aspresident. He died in 1977 before his term of office ended, and was thesecond Indian president to die in office.[17]

– Basappa Danappa Jatti *(1912–2002)

– 11 February1977 25 July 1977 –

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Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed's term of office,and was sworn in as Acting President of India upon Ahmed's death. Heearlier functioned as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore.[17][18]

6 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy(1913–1996)

1977 25 July 1977 25 July 1982

Basappa DanappaJatti

MuhammadHidayatullah

N.S. Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State.Reddy was the only Member of Parliament from the Janata Party toget elected from Andhra Pradesh.[19] He was unanimously electedSpeaker of the Lok Sabha on 26 March 1977 and relinquished thisoffice on 13 July 1977 to become the 6th President of India.

7 Giani Zail Singh(1916–1994)

1982 25 July 1982 25 July 1987

MuhammadHidayatullah

RamaswamyVenkataraman

In March 1972, Singh assumed the position of chief Minister ofPunjab, and in 1980, he became Union Home Minister. He was alsosecretary general to Non­Aligned Movement (NAM) from 1983 to1986[20]

8RamaswamyVenkataraman(1910–2009)

1987 25 July 1987 25 July 1992 Shankar DayalSharma

In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvementin the Indian independence movement.[21] After his release, he waselected to independent India’s Provisional Parliament as a member ofthe Congress Party in 1950 and eventually joined the centralgovernment, where he first served as Minister of Finance and Industryand later as Minister of Defence.[22]

9 Shankar Dayal Sharma(1918–1999)

1992 25 July 1992 25 July 1997 Kocheril RamanNarayanan

Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the IndianMinister for Communications. He has also served as the governor ofAndhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra.[23]

10Kocheril RamanNarayanan(1920–2005)

1997 25 July 1997 25 July 2002 Krishan Kant

Narayanan served as India's ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, Chinaand United States of America. He received doctorates in Science andLaw and was also a chancellor in several universities.[24] He was alsothe vice­chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.[25] He was thefirst President from Kerala, and also the first Dalit President.

11 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam(1931–2015)

2002 25 July 2002 25 July 2007

Krishan Kant

Bhairon SinghShekhawat

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Kalam was a scientist who played a leading role in the development ofIndia's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.[26] He alsoreceived the Bharat Ratna. Kalam was affectionately known as thePeople's President, due to his extra­Presidential activities. He was thefirst bachelor president of India, and the first Muslim President whocompleted his term. Kalam died following a heart attack whiledelivering a speech in Shillong. [27][28][29]

12 Pratibha Patil(1934–)

2007 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 Mohammad HamidAnsari

Patil was the first woman to become the President of India. She wasalso the first female Governor of Rajasthan.[30][31]

13 Pranab Mukherjee(1935–)

2012 25 July 2012 Incumbent Mohammad HamidAnsari

Pranab Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministry for theGovernment of India such as Finance Minister, Foreign Minister,Defence Minister and Deputy Chairman of the PlanningCommission.[6]

See also

President of IndiaVice President of IndiaList of Vice Presidents of IndiaList of Prime Ministers of India

References

General

"Former Presidents". President’s Secretariat. Retrieved 29 November 2008."List of Presidents/Vice Presidents". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 29 November 2008.

Specific

1. "The Constitution of India" (.doc). Ministry of Lawand Justice of India. Retrieved 4 January 2009.

2. "India gets first woman president sinceindependence". BBC News. 25 July 2007. Retrieved30 November 2008.

3. "1950: India becomes a republic". BBC News. 26January 1950. Retrieved 6 January 2009.

4. Harish Khare (6 December 2006). "Selecting the nextRashtrapati". The Hindu. India. Retrieved30 November 2008.

5. Shekhar Iyer (25 June 2007). "Shekhawat will notresign to contest poll". Hindustan Times. India.Retrieved 4 January 2009.

6. http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/pranab­mukherjee­–­the­13th­president­of­india_789045.html

7. "First female president for India". BBC News. 21July 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

8. "Rajendra Prasad". The Hindu. India. 7 May 1952.Retrieved 30 November 2008.

9. "Republic Day". Time. 6 February 1950. Retrieved30 November 2008.

10. "Rajendra Prasad's birth anniversary celebrated". TheHindu. India. 10 December 2006. Retrieved30 November 2008.

11. Ramachandra Guha (15 April 2006). "Why AmartyaSen should become the next president of India". TheTelegraph. Retrieved 30 November 2008.

12. "Dr S. Radhakrishnan". The Sunday Tribune. 30January 2000. Retrieved 30 November 2008.

13. "Zakir Husain,". Vice President's Secretariat.Retrieved 30 November 2008.

14. "Shekhawat need not compare himself to Giri: ShashiBhushan". The Hindu. India. 12 July 2007. Retrieved30 November 2008.

15. "Hidayatullah, Shri M". Vice President's Secretariat.Retrieved 30 November 2008.

16. "Giri, Shri Varahagiri Venkata". Vice President'sSecretariat. Retrieved 30 November 2008.

17. "Gallery of Indian Presidents". Press InformationBureau of the Government of India. Retrieved30 November 2008.

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External links

Official website of the President of India (http://presidentofindia.nic.in/)Rediff.com – Presidents of India (http://im.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/25kbk.gif)The Hindu – A presidential poll in the coalition age (http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/18/stories/2007071855791100.htm)Zee News: Former Presidents (http://www.zeenews.com/news383392.html)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Presidents_of_India&oldid=745595791"

Categories: Lists of presidents Presidents of India Lists of political office­holders in India

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18. "Jatti, Shri Basappa Danappa". Vice President'sSecretariat. Retrieved 30 November 2008.

19. Bhargava, G.S. "Making of the Prez – Congress chiefselects PM as well as President". The Tribune. India.Retrieved 6 January 2009.

20. Wolpert, Stanley A. (1999). India. University ofCalifornia Press. p. 217. Retrieved 3 January 2009.

21. Hazarika, Sanjoy (17 July 1987). "Man in the News;India's Mild New President: RamaswamyVenkataraman". The New York Times. Retrieved6 January 2009.

22. "Venkataraman, Shri R.". Vice President's Secretariat.Retrieved 6 January 2009.

23. Navtej Sarna (27 December 1999). "Former PresidentShankar Dayal Sharma passes away". Embassy ofIndia, Washington D.C. Retrieved 6 December 2008.

24. "Narayanan, Shri K, R". Vice President's Secretariat.Retrieved 6 December 2008.

25. "The BJP's aim was to get rid of me". Confederationof Human Rights Organizations. Retrieved 6 January2009.

26. Ramana, M. V.; Reddy, C. Rammanohar (2002).Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream. New Delhi: OrientLongman. p. 169.

27. Tyagi, Kavita; Misra, Padma. Basic TechnicalCommunication. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 124.ISBN 978­81­203­4238­5. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

28. " 'Kalam was real people's President' ". HindustanTimes. Indo­Asian News Service. 24 July 2007.Retrieved 2 May 2012.

29. Perappadan, Bindu Shajan (14 April 2007). "Thepeople's President does it again". The Hindu. Chennai,India. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

30. Emily Wax (22 July 2007). "Female President Electedin India". The Washington Post. Retrieved2 December 2008.

31. "Pratibha Patil is Rajasthan's first woman governor".Express India. 8 November 2008. Retrieved6 December 2008.