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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]
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 Saasana Sabha or 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] The 12th president, Pratibha Patil, is the first woman to hold the office, elected in 2007.
On 25 July 2022, Droupadi Murmu took office as the 15th president of India, becoming the second woman and the first tribal person to hold the office. [7]
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. The colors used in the table indicate the following:
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Representation of presidents by party of candidacy
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(help)The president of India is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu is the 15th and current president, having taken office from 25 July 2022.
Varahagiri Venkata Giri, better known as V. V. Giri was an Indian politician and activist who served as the president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also served as the vice president of India from 13 May 1967 to 3 May 1969. He was the first president to be elected as an independent candidate. He was succeeded by Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed as president in 1974. After the end of his full term, Giri was honoured by the Government of India with the Bharat Ratna in 1975. Giri died on 24 June 1980.
Zakir Husain Khan was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the Vice President of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Events in the year 1969 in the Republic of India.
Pratibha Devisingh Patil, also known as Pratibha Patil Shekhawat, is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2007 to 2012. She was the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National Congress, she also served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007, and was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996.
Meira Kumar is an Indian politician and former diplomat. A member of the Indian National Congress, she was the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009, the Minister of Water Resources for a brief period in 2009. She served as the 15th Speaker of Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014, being the first woman to hold the post. Kumar became just the second woman to be nominated for president of India by a major political block when she secured the United Progressive Alliance's nomination in 2017.
La Ganesan Iyer is an Indian politician who serves as the 19th Governor of Nagaland since 20 February 2023. His previous tenures include as the 17th Governor of Manipur between 27 August 2021 and 19 February 2023, the Governor of West Bengal between 18 July 2022 and 17 November 2022. Before that, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. Ganesan is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a veteran of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Rashtrapati Nilayam formerly known as Residency House is the official winter retreat of the President of India located in Hyderabad, Telangana. It was officially opened to the public in March 2023, allowing visitors to explore its vast grounds, thematic gardens, and architectural marvels. The President stays here for at least two weeks during their winter sojourn visit and conducts official business. It is also used as a guest house for visiting dignitaries. It is located in Bolaram in Secunderabad, a neighbourhood of Hyderabad.
Mohammad Hidayatullah was the Chief Justice of India serving from 25 February 1968 to 16 December 1970, and the vice president of India, serving from 31 August 1979 to 30 August 1984. He had also served as the acting president of India from 20 July 1969 to 24 August 1969 and from 6 October 1982 to 31 October 1982 and from 25 July 1983 to 25 July 1983 and from 25 July 1984 to 25 July 1984. He is regarded as an eminent jurist, scholar, educationist, author and linguist.
The Election Commission of India held indirect 13th presidential elections of India on 19 July 2007. Pratibha Patil with 638,116 votes won over her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who got 331,306 votes. This result meant that Pratibha Patil became the first female President of India.
Ram Nath Kovind is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and also the first person from the party to become the president. Prior to his presidency, he served as the Governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017. He also served as a Member of Rajya Sabha from 1994 to 2006. Before entering politics, he was a lawyer for 16 years and practiced in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India until 1993.
Droupadi Murmu is an Indian politician who has served as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 presidential election as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. She is the first person belonging to a tribal community and also the second woman, after Pratibha Patil, to hold the office. She is also the youngest person to occupy the post and the first president born in independent India.
First Lady of India or First Gentleman of India is the title given to the host of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually the spouse of the president of India. There are no official roles or duties assigned to the spouse. The spouse generally attends official ceremonies and functions.
The 2017 presidential election was held in India on 17 July 2017 with the votes counted and the results announced on 20 July 2017. President Pranab Mukherjee, whose term of office was due to expire on 24 July 2017, declined to seek re-election due to health concerns and old age.
Jagdeep Dhankhar is an Indian politician and lawyer serving as the current vice president of India since 2022. He previously served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022. He also served as a Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar ministry from 1990 to 1991, and served as a member of Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. Between 1993 and 1998, he was a Member of Rajasthan's Legislative Assembly. He has been affiliated with multiple political parties in India, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (INC), and the Janata Dal (JD).
Elections in India in 2022 include election to the office of the President of India, vice president of India, by-elections to the Lok Sabha, elections to the Rajya Sabha, elections to state legislative assemblies of 7 (seven) states, by-elections to state legislative assemblies and numerous other elections and by-elections to state legislative councils and local bodies.
The President's Colour Award is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon any military unit of India. It is also known as Nishaan, which is an emblem that is worn by all unit officers on the left-hand sleeve of their uniform.
The 2022 Indian presidential election was the 16th presidential election in India held on 18 July 2022 to elect the president of India. The incumbent president Ram Nath Kovind did not run for reelection. The election had a turnout of 99.12%.
Narendra Modi was inaugurated for the third term as Prime Minister of India on 9 June 2024. The ceremony was held in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 71 other members of the Third Modi ministry took the oath of office.