Presidents

After the drafting of the Indian Constitution by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, a new Head of State was needed. This Head would take up the place of the Governor-General. Thus with the formal adoption of the Constitution on January 26,1950 the first elected President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad assumed office. The President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament as well as of the State Legislative Assemblies. The President enjoys legislative, executive and judicial powers and emergency powers. The Presidents of India who have held office till date are the following:

Dr. Rajendra Prasad: Born in Siwan district of Bihar on December3,1884 Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of India. He started his career as a lawyer but was inspired by Gandhi's to serve the cause of the Indian freedom struggle. He joined the Indian National Congress and served as its President twice. After India's independence, he was elected as the President of India. He put up an example for the latter Presidents to follow. He died on Feb 28,1930. His term in office continued from January 30,1950 to May 13,1962. .

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: He was born on September 5,1888 in a small city in Tamil Nadu,South India. He was a well-known scholar of his day. He was elected member of Constituent Assembly in 1946. He was elected Vice President during Rajendra Prasad's term and later became President on May13,1962. He left office on May13,1967 and died on April 17,1975.

Zakir Hussain: He was born on February 8,1897 in Hyderabad. He received his Doctorate in Economics from the University of Berlin. He founded The Jamia Milia University in Delhi along with fellow students and teachers. After serving as the Governor of Bihar and Vice President during Radhakrishnan's term he became President on May13,1967 and held office until his death on May 3,1969.

V.V.Giri: He was born on august 10,1894 in erstwhile Madras, now Orissa in a Telugu speaking family. He was expelled from University College of Dublin and on returning to India became heavily involved with labor politics. He was Vice President during Hussain's term and later became President on his death. He held office from August 24,1969 to August 23,1974. He died on June 23,1980.

Muhammad Hidayatullah: He was born in 1905 and was educated in Cambridge and the London School of Economics. He started his career as a lawyer with the Allahabad High Court. On Zakir Hussain's death he held office as acting President in 1969. He also served as Vice President from August 1979 to August 1984. He had also been Chief Justice of India from 1977 till1978. He died in 1992.

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed: He held office of President from 1974 to 1977 when he was elected by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and died while holding office. He was born on May 13,1905 and was educated at Cambridge.

Basappa Danappa Jatti: He was born on September 10,1912 in Karnataka and graduated as Lawyer. He became the acting President of India for a brief period after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's death. He also served as Vice President. He died on June 7, 2002.

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy: He was born in Andhra Pradesh on May18, 1913. Inspired by Gandhi, he joined the Indian freedom struggle. He also served as President of The Indian National Congress. He was President of India from 1977 to 1982. He died on June 1,1996.

Giani Zail Singh: He was born on May 5,1916. He was President from 1982 to 1987. His terms with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then Rajiv Gandhi were not good. He died on December 25,1994. He was a freedom fighter.

Ramaswamy Venkataraman: He was born on December 4,1910 in Tamil Nadu. He was drawn to the Indian freedom movement while practicing law. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly which drafted the Constitution. He was Vice President during Zail Singh's term and was President from 1987 to 1992. He is the only living former President of India.

Shankar Dayal Sharma: He was born on August 19,1918 and was President from 1992 to 1997. He also served as the President of the Indian National Congress. Educated at Cambridge he was also Vice President during Venkataraman's term. He died on December 26,1999.

K.R.Narayanan: He was born on Feb 4,1921 in a lower caste family in Kerala. He was Vice President from 1992 till 1997 and then served as President from 1997 to 2002. He died on November 9,2005.

A.P.J.Abdul Kalam: He was born on October 15,1931 in Tamil Nadu. A well-known scientist and engineer he is not a member of any political party. He assumed office on July 25,2002 and successfully completed his term.

Pratibha Patil: Pratibha Patil born on December 19, 1934 is the 13th and current President of India. She is the first woman President of India.

Get to know more about Indian Politicians and Government Officials:
Inder Kumar Gujral Indira Gandhi Biju Patnaik Jyoti Basu Dr. Rajendra Prasad A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Pramod Mahajan P. Chidambaram Lalu Prasad Yadav Sarojini Naidu T.N. Seshan J.M. Lyngdoh