R. Venkataraman Biography

R. Venkataraman was the eighth President of the Indian Republic and served his tenure from 1987 to 1992. Ramaswamy Venkataraman also served as the Vice President of India for a period of three years before he got elected as the President.
Venkataraman remained an eminent political personality throughout his lifetime. He had been a member of the Indian National Congress, and held a large number of ministerial positions- including that of Union Finance Minister and Defense Minister.

R. Venkataraman was born on 4th December in 1910 in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. He received his primary education in the city of Madras (presently Chennai) and finally obtained his Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Madras. He enrolled in the High Court of Madras in 1935, and later in the Supreme Court after he qualified as a lawyer from the Law College of Madras.
It was while he was practicing law that Venkataraman first found himself drawn towards India’s freedom struggle. He actively participated in the Indian National Congress’s Quit India Movement of 1942. During the years from 1947 to 1950, R.Venkataraman also served as secretary of the madras Provincial Bar Federation.

Later, he became a member of the Constituent Assembly and drafted the Constitution of India. In 1950, Ramaswamy Venkataraman was elected to the Provisional Parliament of India(1950-1952) and to the First Parliament (1952-1957). He also received the Tamra Patra award for his participation in the freedom struggle of India.

Author of five published books, Venkatraman, following multiple organ failure, drew his final breath on 27th January 2009 (aged 98) in New Delhi.