List of heads of state of India

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This is a list of the heads of state of India, from independence in 1947 to the present day. The current head of state of India is Droupadi Murmu, elected in 2022 after being nominated by the National Democratic Alliance.

Contents

From 1947 to 1950, the head of state under the Indian Independence Act 1947 was King of India, [1] [2] who was also the monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Dominions of the British Commonwealth. The monarch was represented in India by a governor-general. India became a republic under the Constitution of 1950 and the monarch and governor-general were replaced by a ceremonial president.

Monarch of India (1947–1950)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

King of India
Emblem of India (without motto).svg
Emblem of the Union of India
King George VI LOC matpc.14736 (cleaned).jpg
Details
Style His Majesty
First monarch George VI as successor of the Emperor of India
Last monarchGeorge VI
Formation15 August 1947
Abolition26 January 1950
Appointer Hereditary
No.PortraitMonarch
(Birth–Death)		ReignRoyal House Prime Minister Governor General
Reign startReign end
1 King George VI LOC matpc.14736 A (cropped).jpg George VI
(1895–1952)		15 August 194726 January 1950 Windsor Nehru Mountbatten
(1947–1948)
Rajagopalachari
(1948–1950)

Governor-General

The Governor-General was the representative of the Monarch in India and exercised most of the powers of the Monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the Monarch. Following independence in 1947, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of India without the involvement of the British government.

No.PortraitGovernor-General
(Birth–Death)		Tenure Prime Minister
Took officeLeft office
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg Appointed by George VI (1947–1950)(As King of India)
1 Lord Mountbatten 4 Allan Warren.jpg The Rt. Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma
(1900–1979)		15 August 194721 June 1948 Jawaharlal Nehru
2 C Rajagopalachari Feb 17 2011.JPG Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
(1878–1972)		21 June 194826 January 1950

President of India (1950–present)

Under the Constitution, of the Republic of India, the president replaced the monarch as ceremonial head of state. The president is elected by the Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the vice president serves as acting president.

Status
  Denotes Vice-President acting as President
No.PortraitPresident
(Birth–Death)		ElectedTenurePolitical affiliation
(at time of appointment)		 Prime Minister
Took officeLeft office
1 Food Minister Rajendra Prasad during a radio broadcast in Dec 1947 cropped.jpg Rajendra Prasad
(1884–1963)		 1952
1957 		26 January 195013 May 1962 Indian National Congress Nehru
2 Photograph of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan presented to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.jpg Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)		 1962 13 May 196213 May 1967 Independent Nehru
Nanda
Shastri
Nanda
I. Gandhi
3 DR. ZAKIR HUSAIN - PICTORIAL BIOGRAPHY 0005.jpg Zakir Husain
(1897–1969)		 1967 13 May 19673 May 1969
(died in office.)		 Independent I. Gandhi
– V.V.Giri.jpg V. V. Giri
(1894–1980)		–3 May 196920 July 1969 Independent I. Gandhi
– Hidayatullah.png Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1905–1992)		–20 July 196924 August 1969 [3] I. Gandhi
4 V.V.Giri.jpg V. V. Giri
(1894–1980)		 1969 24 August 196924 August 1974 Independent I. Gandhi
5 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 1977 stamp of India (cropped).jpg Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977)		 1974 24 August 197411 February 1977
(died in office.)		 Indian National Congress I. Gandhi
– President Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed administering Oath of Vice President of India to Shri B.D. Jatti at Rashtrapati Bhavan.jpg Basappa Danappa Jatti
(1912–2002)		–11 February 197725 July 1977 Indian National Congress I. Gandhi
Desai
6 NeelamSanjeevaReddy.jpg Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)		 1977 25 July 197725 July 1982 Janata Party Desai
C. Singh
I. Gandhi
7 Giani Zail Singh 1995 stamp of India (cropped).png Giani Zail Singh
(1916–1994)		 1982 25 July 198225 July 1987 Indian National Congress I. Gandhi
R. Gandhi
8 R Venkataraman.jpg R. Venkataraman
(1910–2009)		 1987 25 July 198725 July 1992 Indian National Congress R. Gandhi
V. P. Singh
Shekhar
Rao
9 Shankar Dayal Sharma 36.jpg Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999)		 1992 25 July 199225 July 1997 Indian National Congress Rao
Vajpayee
Deve Gowda
Gujral
10 K. R. Narayanan.jpg K. R. Narayanan
(1920–2005)		 1997 25 July 199725 July 2002 Indian National Congress Gujral
Vajpayee
11 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2008.jpg A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(1931–2015)		 2002 25 July 200225 July 2007 Independent Vajpayee
M. Singh
12 PratibhaIndia.jpg Pratibha Patil
(born 1934)		 2007 25 July 200725 July 2012 Indian National Congress M. Singh
13 Secretary Tim Geithner and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee 2010 crop.jpg Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020)		 2012 25 July 201225 July 2017 Indian National Congress M. Singh
Modi
14 Ram Nath Kovind official portrait.jpg Ram Nath Kovind
(born 1945)		 2017 25 July 201725 July 2022 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi
15 President Droupadi Murmu official portrait higher version.jpg Droupadi Murmu
(born 1958)		 2022 25 July 2022Incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party Modi

Standards

Notes

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    The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its independence, India had been ruled as an informal empire by the United Kingdom. The empire, also called the British Raj and sometimes the British Indian Empire, consisted of regions, collectively called British India, that were directly administered by the British government, and regions, called the princely states, that were ruled by Indian rulers under a system of paramountcy. The Dominion of India was formalised by the passage of the Indian Independence Act 1947, which also formalised an independent Dominion of Pakistan—comprising the regions of British India that are today Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Dominion of India remained "India" in common parlance but was geographically reduced. Under the Act, the British government relinquished all responsibility for administering its former territories. The government also revoked its treaty rights with the rulers of the princely states and advised them to join in a political union with India or Pakistan. Accordingly, the British monarch's regnal title, "Emperor of India," was abandoned.

    References

    1. ↑ The Contemporary Commonwealth: An Assessment 1965-2009, Taylor & Francis, 2009, p. 22, ISBN   9781135238308, On independence in 1947, George VI became 'King of India' until the adoption of republican status in 1950.
    2. ↑ Jawaharlal Nehru (1991), Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru: 21 June to 15 August 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, p. 363, King George was in effect King of India and it was as such that he functioned as the Head of the Indian State. He did not function in India as the King of England.
    3. ↑ Was Chief Justice of India
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