List of heads of state of India

For historical heads of state in the Indian Subcontinent, see List of Indian monarchs.

Sixteen individuals have served as head of state of India, from the independence of India 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.

From 1947 to 1950, the head of state under the Indian Independence Act 1947 was the 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 the Union of India
Details
Style	His Majesty
First monarch	George VI as successor of the Emperor of India
Last monarch	George VI
Formation	15 August 1947
Abolition	26 January 1950
Appointer	Hereditary

No.	Portrait	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Reign		Royal House	Prime Minister	Governor General
			Reign start	Reign end
1		George VI (1895–1952)	15 August 1947	26 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.	Portrait	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Tenure		Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
Appointed by George VI (1947–1950)(As King of India)
1		The Rt. Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979)	15 August 1947	21 June 1948	Jawaharlal Nehru
2		Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878–1972)	21 June 1948	26 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.	Portrait	President (Birth–Death)	Elected	Tenure		Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister
				Took office	Left office
1		Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963)	1952 1957	26 January 1950	13 May 1962		Indian National Congress	Nehru
2		Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)	1962	13 May 1962	13 May 1967		Independent	Nehru Nanda Shastri Nanda I. Gandhi
3		Zakir Husain (1897–1969)	1967	13 May 1967	3 May 1969 (died in office.)		Independent	I. Gandhi
–		V. V. Giri (1894–1980)	–	3 May 1969	20 July 1969		Independent	I. Gandhi
–		Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)	–	20 July 1969	24 August 1969		[3]	I. Gandhi
4		V. V. Giri (1894–1980)	1969	24 August 1969	24 August 1974		Independent	I. Gandhi
5		Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977)	1974	24 August 1974	11 February 1977 (died in office.)		Indian National Congress	I. Gandhi
–		Basappa Danappa Jatti (1912–2002)	–	11 February 1977	25 July 1977		Indian National Congress	I. Gandhi Desai
6		Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996)	1977	25 July 1977	25 July 1982		Janata Party	Desai C. Singh I. Gandhi
7		Giani Zail Singh (1916–1994)	1982	25 July 1982	25 July 1987		Indian National Congress	I. Gandhi R. Gandhi
8		Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009)	1987	25 July 1987	25 July 1992		Indian National Congress	R. Gandhi V. P. Singh Shekhar Rao
9		Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999)	1992	25 July 1992	25 July 1997		Indian National Congress	Rao Vajpayee Deve Gowda Gujral
10		K. R. Narayanan (1920–2005)	1997	25 July 1997	25 July 2002		Indian National Congress	Gujral Vajpayee
11		A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015)	2002	25 July 2002	25 July 2007		Independent	Vajpayee M. Singh
12		Pratibha Patil (born 1934)	2007	25 July 2007	25 July 2012		Indian National Congress	M. Singh
13		Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020)	2012	25 July 2012	25 July 2017		Indian National Congress	M. Singh Modi
14		Ram Nath Kovind (born 1945)	2017	25 July 2017	25 July 2022		Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi
15		Droupadi Murmu (born 1958)	2022	25 July 2022	Incumbent		Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi

Standards

• 
  Governor-General's Standard (1947–1950)
• 
  Presidential Standard (1950–1971)

References

1. Mayall, James, ed. (2009). The Contemporary Commonwealth: An Assessment 1965-2009. London and New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 22. ISBN   978-1-135-23830-8. 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

External links

• World Statesmen – India
• Rulers.org – India