Friday, May 16, 2014

Presidents of India


#NamePortraitTook officeLeft officeVice PresidentNotes
1Rajendra Prasad
(1884–1963)
Food Minister Rajendra Prasad during a radio broadcast in Dec 1947 cropped.jpg26 January 195012 May 1962Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan1952 election & 1957 election
Prasad, from Bihar, was the first President of independent India.[8][9] He was also a freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement.[10] Prasad was the only president to serve two terms in office.[4]
2Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)
Radhakrishnan.jpg13 May 196213 May 1967Zakir Hussain1962 election
Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher, writer, a Knight of the Realmand also held the position of vice chancellorof the Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University.[11] He was also made a Knight of the Golden Army of Angels by Pope Paul VI. He received Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President.[12]
3Zakir Hussain
(1897–1969)
13 May 19673 May 1969Varahagiri Venkata Giri1967 election
Hussain was vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.[13] He died in office.
Varahagiri Venkata Giri *
(1894–1980)
3 May 196920 July 1969Giri was appointed as Acting President of India following the death of Hussain.[14] He resigned in a few months to take part in the presidential elections.[5]
Mohammad Hidayatullah *
(1905–1992)
20 July 196924 August 1969Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India, and was a recipient of the Order of the British Empire.[15] He served as Acting President of India until the election of Giri as the President of India.
4Varahagiri Venkata Giri
(1894–1980)
24 August 196924 August 1974Gopal Swarup Pathak1969 election
Giri is the only person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and has functioned as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Ceylon(Sri Lanka).[16]
5Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977)
24 August 197411 February 1977Basappa Danappa Jatti1974 election
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed served as a Minister before being elected as president. He died in 1977 before his term of office ended, and was the second Indian president to die in office.[17]
Basappa Danappa Jatti *
(1912–2002)
11 February 197725 July 1977Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed's term of office, and was sworn in asActing President of India upon Ahmed's death. He earlier functioned as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore.[17][18]
6Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
NeelamSanjeevaReddy.jpg25 July 197725 July 1982Muhammad Hidayatullah1977 election
N.S.Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State. Reddy was the only Member of Parliament from the Janata Party to get elected from Andhra Pradesh.[19] He was unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on 26 March 1977 and relinquished this office on 13 July 1977 to become the 6th President of India.
7Giani Zail Singh
(1916–1994)
25 July 198225 July 1987Ramaswamy Venkataraman1982 election
In March 1972, Singh assumed the position of chief Minister of Punjab, and in 1980, he became Union Home Minister.[20]
8Ramaswamy Venkataraman
(1910–2009)
R Venkataraman.jpg25 July 198725 July 1992Shankar Dayal Sharma1987 election
In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in the Indian independence movement.[21] After his release, he was elected to independent India’s Provisional Parliament as a member of the Congress Party in 1950 and eventually joined the central government, where he first served as Minister of Finance and Industry and later as Minister of Defence.[22]
9Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999)
Shankar Dayal Sharma 36.jpg25 July 199225 July 1997Kocheril Raman Narayanan1992 election
Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He has also served as the governor of Andhra PradeshPunjab andMaharashtra.[23]
10Kocheril Raman Narayanan
(1920–2005)
K. R. Narayanan.jpg25 July 199725 July 2002Krishan Kant1997 election
Narayanan served as India's ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, China and United States of America. He received doctorates in Science and Law and was also a chancellor in several universities.[24] He was also the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.[25]
11A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(b. 1931)
AbdulKalam.JPG25 July 200225 July 2007Krishan Kant

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
2002 election
Kalam is a scientist who played a leading role in the development of India's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.[26]He also received the Bharat Ratna. Kalam was affectionately known as the People's President.[27][28][29]
12Pratibha Patil
(b. 1934)
PratibhaIndia.jpg25 July 200725 July 2012Mohammad Hamid Ansari2007 election
Patil is the first woman to become the President of India. She was also the first female Governor of Rajasthan.[30][31]
13Pranab Mukherjee
(b. 1935)
Secretary Tim Geithner and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee 2010 crop.jpg25 July 2012IncumbentMohammad Hamid Ansari2012 election
Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministry for the Government of India such asFinance MinisterForeign MinisterDefence Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.[6]

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