Login
Login

List of presidents of India

{{short description|none}}

{{featured list}}

{{Use Indian English|date=December 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}

{{Politics of India}}

{{For|historical heads of state in the Indian Subcontinent|List of heads of state of India}}

{{multiple image

| perrow = 2

| total_width = 250

| image1 = Rajendra Prasad (Indian President), signed image for Walter Nash (NZ Prime Minister), 1958 (16017609534).jpg

| width1 = 400

| height1 = 500

| image2 = Zakir Husain, 2nd Vice President of India.jpg

| width2 = 400

| height2 = 500

| image3 = Pratibha Patil 2012-02-27.jpg

| width3 = 400

| height3 = 500

| image4 = Droupadi Murmu June 2022.jpg

| width4 = 400

| height4 = 500

| footer = {{bulleted list

|Top left: Rajendra Prasad was the first and longest-serving president of India.

|Top right: Zakir Husain was the second 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.{{cite web|title=President Ram Nath Kovind is India's first citizen. Your chances begin only at Number 27|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/president-ram-nath-kovind-is-first-citizen-of-india-you-can-hope-to-be-citizen-number-27/1/1011340.html|website=indiatoday.com|date=26 July 2017 |publisher=Times of India|access-date=19 November 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730214942/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/president-ram-nath-kovind-is-first-citizen-of-india-you-can-hope-to-be-citizen-number-27/1/1011340.html|archive-date=30 July 2017}}{{Cite web|title=The Constitution of India|url=http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/Art1-242%20(1-88).doc|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205135612/http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/Art1-242%20(1-88).doc|archive-date=5 February 2009|access-date=4 January 2009|publisher=Ministry of Law and Justice of India|format=.doc}} 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.{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2007/07/070725_india_president.shtml |title=India gets first woman president since independence |access-date=30 November 2008 |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215044650/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2007/07/070725_india_president.shtml |archive-date=15 February 2009}}

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. 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.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/26/newsid_3475000/3475569.stm |title=1950: India becomes a republic |access-date=6 January 2009 |work=BBC News |date=26 January 1950 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117080154/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/26/newsid_3475000/3475569.stm |archive-date=17 January 2008 }} 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.{{Cite news|author=Harish Khare|date=6 December 2006|title=Selecting the next Rashtrapati|location=India|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/06/stories/2006120603561000.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=30 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719030328/http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/06/stories/2006120603561000.htm|archive-date=19 July 2011|newspaper=The Hindu}}

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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=2ee3bdc7-6ec2-409a-a4d5-48294361d566&MatchID1=4875&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=3&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1229&PrimaryID=4875&Headline=Shekhawat+will+not+resign+to+contest+poll |title=Shekhawat will not resign to contest poll |access-date=4 January 2009 |author=Shekhar Iyer |work=Hindustan Times |location=India |date=25 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111180014/http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=2ee3bdc7-6ec2-409a-a4d5-48294361d566&MatchID1=4875&TeamID1=1&TeamID2=3&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1229&PrimaryID=4875&Headline=Shekhawat+will+not+resign+to+contest+poll |archive-date=11 January 2009 }} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/newly-elected-president-droupadi-murmu-oath-taking-ceremony-live-updates-july-25/liveblog/93099081.cms|title=Droupadi Murmu oath taking ceremony LIVE updates: Droupadi Murmu takes oath as India's 15th President|newspaper=The Times of India|date=25 July 2022|access-date=25 July 2022|language=en-IN}}

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. The colors used in the table indicate the following:

{{Col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Legend

{{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|Indian National Congress (INC) (8)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|{{party color|Janata Party}}"|Janata Party (JP) (1)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (3)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|{{party color|Independent politician}}"|Independent (IND) (2)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|wheat|Acting President (3)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{col-2}}

;Key

  • {{note label|RES|RES|RES}} Resigned
  • {{note label|†|†|†}} Died in office

{{col-end}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; text-align:center"
rowspan="2" |Portrait

! rowspan="2" |Name

{{small|{{nowrap|(Birth–Death)}}}}

! rowspan="2" |Home state

! rowspan="2" |Former Office(s)

! colspan="3" |Term of office

! rowspan="2" |Oath administered by

(CJI)

! rowspan="2" |Election

! rowspan="2" |Election Map

! rowspan="2" |Prime Minister

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" |Political party

Assumed office

! Left office

! Time in office

rowspan="3" |100px

| rowspan="3" |Rajendra Prasad
{{small|(1884–1963)}}

| rowspan="3" |Bihar

| rowspan="3" |Minister of Agriculture

| {{dts|1950|1|26|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1952|5|13|format=dmy}}

| rowspan="3" |12 years, 107 days

|H. J. Kania

|1950

| -

| rowspan="3" |Jawaharlal Nehru

| rowspan="3" |Indian National Congress

| rowspan="3" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |

{{dts|1952|5|13|format=dmy}}

|{{dts|1957|5|13|format=dmy}}

|M. Patanjali Sastri

| 1952

| 50px

{{dts|1957|5|13|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1962|5|13|format=dmy}}

|Sudhi Ranjan Das

| 1957

|50px

100px

| Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
{{small|(1888–1975)}}

| Tamil Nadu

| Vice President of India

| {{dts|1962|5|13|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1967|5|13|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1962|5|13|1967|5|13}}

|Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha

| 1962

|50px

| Jawaharlal Nehru (1962- 1964)

----

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964- 1966)

----

Indira Gandhi (1966- 1967)

| rowspan="5" |Independent

| rowspan="5" style="background-color: {{party color|Independent politician}}" |

125x125px

| Zakir Husain
{{small|(1897–1969)}}

| Andhra Pradesh

| Vice President of India

----

Governor of Bihar

| {{dts|1967|5|13|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1969|5|3|format=dmy}}{{ref label|†|†|†}}

| {{ayd|1967|5|13|1969|5|3}}

|Kailas Nath Wanchoo

| 1967

|50px

| Indira Gandhi

style="background:wheat;" |100px

| style="background:wheat;" |V. V. Giri
{{small|(1894–1980)}}

| Odisha

| style="background:wheat;" |Vice President of India

| style="background:wheat;" |{{dts|1969|5|3|format=dmy}}

| style="background:wheat;" |{{dts|1969|7|20|format=dmy}}

| style="background:wheat;" |{{ayd|1969|5|3|1969|7|20}}

|

| {{Endash}}

| {{Endash}}

style="background:wheat;" |100px

| style="background:wheat;" |Mohammad Hidayatullah
{{small|(1905–1992)}}

| Chhattisgarh

| style="background:wheat;" |Chief Justice of India

| style="background:wheat;" |{{dts|1969|7|20|format=dmy}}

| style="background:wheat;" |{{dts|1969|8|24|format=dmy}}

| style="background:wheat;" |{{ayd|1969|7|20|1969|8|24}}

|

| {{Endash}}

| {{Endash}}

|

100px

| V. V. Giri
{{small|(1894–1980)}}

| Odisha

| Vice President of India

----

Governor of Kerala

| {{dts|1969|8|24|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1974|8|24|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1969|8|24|1974|8|24}}

|Mohammad Hidayatullah

| 1969

|50px

| Indira Gandhi

100px

| Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
{{small|(1905–1977)}}

| National Capital Territory of Delhi

| Minister of Agriculture

| {{dts|1974|8|24|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1977|2|11|format=dmy}}{{ref label|†|†|†}}

| {{ayd|1974|8|24|1977|2|11}}

|A. N. Ray{{Cite web |title= |url=http://rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-03/4_0.jpg}}

| 1974

| 50px

| Indira Gandhi

| rowspan="2" |Indian National Congress

| rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |

style="background:wheat;" |100px

| style="background:wheat;" |B. D. Jatti
{{small|(1912–2002)}}

| Karnataka

| style="background:wheat;" |Chief Minister of Karnataka

| style="background:wheat;" |{{dts|1977|2|11|format=dmy}}

| style="background:wheat;" |{{dts|1977|7|25|format=dmy}}

| style="background:wheat;" |{{ayd|1977|2|11|1977|7|25}}

|

| {{Endash}}

| {{Endash}}

147x147px

| Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
{{small|(1913–1996)}}

| Andhra Pradesh

| Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

| {{dts|1977|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1982|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1977|7|25|1982|7|25}}

|Mirza Hameedullah Beg

| 1977

|50px

| Morarji Desai (1977- 1979)

----

Charan Singh (1979- 1980)

----

Indira Gandhi (1980- 1982)

| Janata Party

| style="background-color: {{party color|Janata Party}}" |

100px

| Zail Singh
{{small|(1916–1994)}}

| Punjab

| Chief Minister of Punjab

| {{dts|1982|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1987|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1982|7|25|1987|7|25}}

|Y. V. Chandrachud

| 1982

|50px

| Indira Gandhi (1982- 1984)

----

Rajiv Gandhi (1984- 1987)

| rowspan="4" |Indian National Congress

| rowspan="4" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |

122x122px

| Ramaswamy Venkataraman
{{small|(1910–2009)}}

| Tamil Nadu

| Vice President of India

----

Minister of Defence

| {{dts|1987|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1992|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1987|7|25|1992|7|25}}

|Raghunandan Swarup Pathak

| 1987

|50px

| Rajiv Gandhi (1987- 1989)

----

V. P. Singh (1989- 1990)

----

Chandra Shekhar (1990- 1991)

----

P. V. Narasimha Rao (1991- 1992)

100px

| Shankar Dayal Sharma
{{small|(1918–1999)}}

| Madhya Pradesh

| Vice President of India

----

Governor of Maharashtra

| {{dts|1992|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|1997|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1992|7|25|1997|7|25}}

|M. H. Kania

| 1992

|50px

| P. V. Narasimha Rao (1992- 1996)

----

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1996)

----

H. D. Deve Gowda (1996- 1997)

----

Inder Kumar Gujral (1997)

137x137px

| K. R. Narayanan
{{small|(1920–2005)}}

| Kerala

| Vice President of India

| {{dts|1997|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|2002|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|1997|7|25|2002|7|25}}

|J. S. Verma

| 1997

|50px

| Inder Kumar Gujral (1997- 1998)

----

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1998- 2002)

100px

| A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
{{small|(1931–2015)}}

| Tamil Nadu

| Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of India

| {{dts|2002|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|2007|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|2002|7|25|2007|7|25}}

|Bhupinder Nath Kirpal

| 2002

|50px

| Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2002- 2004)

----

Manmohan Singh (2004- 2007)

| Independent

| style="background-color: {{party color|Independent politician}}" |

100px

| Pratibha Patil
{{small|(born 1934)}}

| Maharashtra

| Governor of Rajasthan

| {{dts|2007|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|2012|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|2007|7|25|2012|7|25}}

|K. G. Balakrishnan{{Cite news |date=2007-07-25 |title=Pratibha Patil sworn in as President |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pratibha-patil-sworn-in-as-president/articleshow/2232871.cms |access-date=2024-12-27 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}

| 2007

|50px

|Manmohan Singh (2004- 2007)

| rowspan="2" |Indian National Congress

| rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |

100px

| Pranab Mukherjee
{{small|(1935–2020)}}

| West Bengal

| Minister of Defence

----

Minister of Finance

----

Minister of External Affairs

| {{dts|2012|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|2017|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|2012|7|25|2017|7|25}}

|S. H. Kapadia{{Cite web |date=2012-07-25 |title=Pranab Mukherjee sworn in 13th President of India |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/pranab-mukherjee-13th-president-of-india-110991-2012-07-25 |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=India Today |language=en}}

| 2012

|50px

|Manmohan Singh (2007- 2014)

----

Narendra Modi (2014- 2017)

100px

| Ram Nath Kovind
{{small|(born 1945)}}

| Uttar Pradesh

| Governor of Bihar

| {{dts|2017|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{dts|2022|7|25|format=dmy}}

| {{ayd|2017|7|25|2022|7|25}}

|Jagdish Singh Khehar{{Cite web |title=Ram Nath Kovind Takes Oath As 14th President of India: Highlights |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/presidents-swearing-in-ceremony-live-ram-nath-kovind-takes-oath-as-14th-president-of-india-today-1728784 |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=www.ndtv.com |language=en}}

| 2017

|50px

| Narendra Modi

| rowspan="2" |Bharatiya Janata Party

| rowspan="2" style="background-color: {{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |

100px

| Droupadi Murmu
{{small|(born 1958)}}

| Odisha

| Governor of Jharkhand

| {{dts|2022|7|25|format=dmy}}

| Incumbent

| {{ayd|2022|7|25}}

|N. V. Ramana{{Cite web |title=The Chief Justice of India, Shri Justice N.V. Ramana administering the oath of the office of the President of India to Smt. Droupadi Murmu, at a swearing-in ceremony in the central hall of Parliament, in New Delhi on July 25, 2022. {{!}} Welcome to RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN - The Office and Residence of the President of India |url=https://rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in/index.php/rbtour/photo-gallery/other-occasions/chief-justice-india-shri-justice-nv-ramana-administering-oath |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in}}

| 2022

|50px

| Narendra Modi

Statistics

{{Pie chart

| caption= Representation of presidents by party of candidacy

| label1 = Indian National Congress

| value1 = 53.33| color1 = {{party color|Indian National Congress}}

| label2 = Independent

| value2 = 26.67| color2 = {{party color|Independent politician}}

| label3 = Bharatiya Janata Party

| value3 = 13.33| color3 = {{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}

| label4 = Janata Party

| value4 = 6.67| color4 = {{party color|Janata Party}}

}}

;Timeline

{{#tag:timeline|

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20

PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20

AlignBars = late

Colors =

id:BJP value:rgb(1,0.6,0.2) legend:BJP

id:INC value:rgb(0,0.74902,1) legend:INC

id:IND value:gray(0.8) legend:IND

id:JP value:blue legend:JP

id:gray1 value:gray(0.8)

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy

Period = from:01/01/1950 till:$today

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:10 start:1950

Legend = columns:4 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:100

TextData =

pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M

text:"Political Party:"

BarData =

barset:PREZ

PlotData=

width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

barset:PREZ

from: 26/01/1950 till: 13/05/1962 color:INC text:"Prasad" fontsize:10

from: 13/05/1962 till: 13/05/1967 color:IND text:"Radhakrishnan" fontsize:10

from: 13/05/1967 till: 03/05/1969 color:IND text:"Husain" fontsize:10

from: 03/05/1969 till: 20/07/1969 color:IND text:"Giri (acting)" fontsize:10

from: 20/07/1969 till: 24/08/1969 color:IND text:"Hidayatullah (acting)" fontsize:10

from: 24/08/1969 till: 24/08/1974 color:IND text:"Giri" fontsize:10

from: 24/08/1974 till: 11/02/1977 color:INC text:"Ahmed" fontsize:10

from: 11/02/1977 till: 25/07/1977 color:INC text:"Jatti (acting)" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/1977 till: 25/07/1982 color:JP text:"Reddy" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/1982 till: 25/07/1987 color:INC text:"Singh" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/1987 till: 25/07/1992 color:INC text:"Venkataraman" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/1992 till: 25/07/1997 color:INC text:"Sharma" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/1997 till: 25/07/2002 color:INC text:"Narayanan" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/2002 till: 25/07/2007 color:IND text:"Kalam" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/2007 till: 25/07/2012 color:INC text:"Patil" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/2012 till: 25/07/2017 color:INC text:"Mukherjee" fontsize:10

from: 25/07/2017 till: 25/07/2022 color:BJP text:"Kovind" fontsize:10

from: 26/07/2022 till:end color:BJP text:"Murmu" fontsize:10

}}

See also

Citations

{{Reflist}}

References

{{refbegin}}

  • {{official website|http://presidentofindia.nic.in/|The President of India (official site)}}
  • {{official website|http://www.india.gov.in// |India portal (official site)}}

{{refend}}

External links

  • [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India.htm World Statesmen – India]
  • [http://rulers.org/ruli.html#india Rulers.org – India]

{{Presidents of India}}

{{Union ministries of India}}

{{Government of India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:President of India}}

*

Category:India government-related lists

Category:Lists of political office-holders in India

India