List of presidents of India

Last updated

Rajendra Prasad (Indian President), signed image for Walter Nash (NZ Prime Minister), 1958 (16017609534).jpg
Zakir Husain, 2nd Vice President of India.jpg
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil.jpg
President of India Droupadi Murmu official portrait (cropped).jpg
  • Top left: Rajendra Prasad was the first and longest-serving president of India.
  • Top right: Zakir Husain was the first from a minority religion to become president of India.
  • Bottom left: Pratibha Patil was the first female president of India.
  • Bottom right: Droupadi Murmu is the youngest president and the first president from a tribal community.

The president of India is the head of state of the Republic of India and the supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The president is referred to as the first citizen of India. [1] [2] Although vested with these powers by the Constitution of India, the position is largely a ceremonial one and executive powers are de facto exercised by the prime minister. [3]

Contents

The president is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies. [2] Presidents may remain in office for a tenure of five years, as stated by article 56, part V, of the Constitution of India. In the case where a president's term of office is terminated early or during the absence of the president, the vice president assumes office. By article 70 of part V, the parliament may decide how to discharge the functions of the president where this is not possible, or in any other unexpected contingency.

There have been 15 presidents of India since the post was established when India was declared as a republic with the adoption of the Indian constitution in 1950. [4] Apart from these fifteen, three acting presidents have also been in office for short periods of time. V. V. Giri became the acting president in 1969 after Zakir Husain died in office. Giri was elected president a few months later. He remains the only person to have held office both as a president and acting president. Rajendra Prasad, the first president of India, is the only person to have held office for two terms. [5]

Seven presidents have been members of a political party before being elected. Six of these were active party members of the Indian National Congress. The Janata Party has had one member, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who later became president. Two presidents, Zakir Husain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, have died in office. Their vice presidents served as acting presidents until a new president was elected. Following Zakir Husain's death, two acting presidents held office until the new president, V. V. Giri, was elected. When Giri resigned to take part in the presidential elections, he was succeeded by Mohammad Hidayatullah as acting president. [6] Pratibha Patil is the first woman to hold the office, elected in 2007.

On 25 July 2022, Droupadi Murmu took office as the president of India, becoming the second woman and the first tribal person to hold the office. [7]

List

This list is numbered based on presidents elected after winning an Indian presidential election. The terms of V. V. Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah and B. D. Jatti, who served as acting president are therefore not numbered or counted as actual terms in office. The president of India does not represent any political party.



PortraitName

(Birth–Death)

Home stateFormer Office(s)Term of officeElection Vice- President Political party
Assumed officeLeft officeTime in office
Rajendra Prasad (Indian President), signed image for Walter Nash (NZ Prime Minister), 1958 (16017609534).jpg Rajendra Prasad
(1884–1963)
Bihar Minister of Agriculture 26 January 195013 May 195212 years, 107 days 1950 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Indian National Congress
13 May 195213 May 1957 1952
13 May 195713 May 1962 1957
Photograph of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan presented to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.jpg Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)
Tamil Nadu Vice President of India 13 May 196213 May 19675 years, 0 days 1962 Zakir Husain Independent
Zakir Husain, 2nd Vice President of India.jpg Zakir Husain
(1897–1969)
Andhra Pradesh Vice President of India

Governor of Bihar

13 May 19673 May 1969 [†] 1 year, 355 days 1967 V. V. Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri, 3rd Vice President of India.jpg V. V. Giri
(1894–1980)
Odisha Vice President of India 3 May 196920 July 196978 days
Mohammad Hidayatullah, 6th Vice President of India.jpg Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1905–1992)
Chhattisgarh Chief Justice of India 20 July 196924 August 196935 days
Varahagiri Venkata Giri, 3rd Vice President of India.jpg V. V. Giri
(1894–1980)
Odisha Vice President of India

Governor of Kerala

24 August 196924 August 19745 years, 0 days 1969 Vacant (1969), Gopal Swarup Pathak (1969-1974)
President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.jpg Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977)
National Capital Territory of Delhi Minister of Agriculture 24 August 197411 February 1977 [†] 2 years, 171 days 1974 Gopal Swaroop Pathak (1974), B. D. Jatti (1974–1977) Indian National Congress
Basappa Danappa Jatti, 5th Vice President of India.jpg B. D. Jatti
(1912–2002)
Karnataka Chief Minister of Karnataka 11 February 197725 July 1977164 days
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.jpg Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh 25 July 197725 July 19825 years, 0 days 1977 B. D. Jatti (1977–1979), Mohammad Hidayatullah (1979–1982) Janata Party
Giani Zail Singh.jpg Zail Singh
(1916–1994)
Punjab Chief Minister of Punjab 25 July 198225 July 19875 years, 0 days 1982 Mohammad Hidayatullah (1982–1984), Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1984–1987) Indian National Congress
Ramaswamy Venkataraman (2012 stamp of India) (cropped).jpg Ramaswamy Venkataraman
(1910–2009)
Tamil Nadu Vice President of India

Minister of Defence

25 July 198725 July 19925 years, 0 days 1987 Vacant (1987), Shankar Dayal Sharma (1987–1992)
Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma.jpg Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999)
Madhya Pradesh Vice President of India

Governor of Maharashtra

25 July 199225 July 19975 years, 0 days 1992 Vacant (1992), K. R. Narayanan (1992–1997)
The official portrait of Shri Kocheril Raman Narayanan, 10th President of the Republic of India.png K. R. Narayanan
(1920–2005)
Kerala Vice President of India 25 July 199725 July 20025 years, 0 days 1997 Vacant (1997), Krishan Kant (1997–2002)
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.jpg A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(1931–2015)
Tamil Nadu Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of India 25 July 200225 July 20075 years, 0 days 2002 Krishan Kant (2002) , Vacant (2002), Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2002–2007), Vacant (2007) Independent
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil.jpg Pratibha Patil
(born 1934)
Maharashtra Governor of Rajasthan 25 July 200725 July 20125 years, 0 days 2007 Vacant (2007), Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2007–2012) Indian National Congress
Pranab Mukherjee Portrait (cropped).jpg Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020)
West Bengal Minister of Defence

Minister of Finance


Minister of External Affairs

25 July 201225 July 20175 years, 0 days 2012 Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2012–2017)
The official portrait of Shri Ram Nath Kovind, 14th President of the Republic of India.jpg Ram Nath Kovind
(born 1945)
Uttar Pradesh Governor of Bihar 25 July 201725 July 20225 years, 0 days 2017 Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2017), Venkaiah Naidu (2017–2022) Bharatiya Janata Party
President of India Droupadi Murmu official portrait (cropped).jpg Droupadi Murmu
(born 1958)
Odisha Governor of Jharkhand 25 July 2022Incumbent3 years, 52 days 2022 Venkaiah Naidu (2022), Jagdeep Dhankhar (2022–2025), Vacant (2025), C. P. Radhakrishnan (2025–present)

Statistics

Representation of presidents by party of candidacy
  1. Indian National Congress (53.3%)
  2. Independent (26.7%)
  3. Bharatiya Janata Party (13.3%)
  4. Janata Party (6.67%)

See also

Citations

  1. "President Ram Nath Kovind is India's first citizen. Your chances begin only at Number 27". indiatoday.com. Times of India. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 "The Constitution of India". Ministry of Law and Justice of India. Archived from the original (.doc) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  3. "India gets first woman president since independence". BBC News. 25 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  4. "1950: India becomes a republic". BBC News. 26 January 1950. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  5. Harish Khare (6 December 2006). "Selecting the next Rashtrapati". The Hindu . India. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  6. Shekhar Iyer (25 June 2007). "Shekhawat will not resign to contest poll". Hindustan Times. India. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  7. "Droupadi Murmu oath taking ceremony LIVE updates: Droupadi Murmu takes oath as India's 15th President". The Times of India. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.