List of presidents of India

2023-12-24T12:35:10Z

2409:40D4:D:80F9:5848:97FF:FE4E:C1A2:

{{short description|List of presidents of India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Politics of India}}

The [[president of India]] is the [[head of state]] of India and the [[commander-in-chief|Supreme Commander]] of the [[Indian Armed Forces]]. The president is referred to as the first citizen of India.<ref>{{cite web|title=President Ram Nath Kovind is Indias 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|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}}</ref><ref name="constitution">{{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}}</ref> 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 of India|prime minister]].<ref name="bbc patil">{{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}}</ref>

The president is elected by the [[Electoral College (India)|Electoral College]] composed of elected members of the parliament houses, the [[Lok Sabha]] and the [[Rajya Sabha]], and also members of the [[Vidhan Sabha]], the state legislative assemblies.<ref name="constitution" /> 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 14 presidents of India since the post was established when India was declared as a republic with the adoption of the [[Indian constitution]] in 1950.<ref>{{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 }}</ref> Apart from these fourteen, three [[Acting (law)|acting]] presidents have also been in office for short periods of time. [[Varahagiri Venkata Giri]] became the acting president in 1969 after [[Zakir Husain (politician)|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.<ref name="selecting next">{{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]]}}</ref>

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 (politician)|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.<ref name="resign">{{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 }}</ref> The 12th president, [[Pratibha Patil]], is the first woman to hold the office, elected in [[2007 Indian presidential election|2007]].

On 25 July 2017, [[Ram Nath Kovind]] took office as the [[2017 Indian presidential election|14th president of India]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Hebbar|first1=Nistula|title=Ram Nath Kovind enters Rashtrapati Bhavan with big win|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nda-candidate-ram-nath-kovind-is-the-14th-president-of-india/article19316904.ece|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=25 October 2017|language=en-IN|date=20 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720134017/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nda-candidate-ram-nath-kovind-is-the-14th-president-of-india/article19316904.ece|archive-date=20 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/ram-nath-kovind-takes-oath-as-president-rajya-sabha-discusses-farmers-crisis-top-stories-for-today/article19358829.ece|title=Ram Nath Kovind takes oath as President, Rajya Sabha discusses farmers' crisis – top stories for today|author=The Hindu Net Desk|date=27 July 2017|work=The Hindu|access-date=20 December 2017|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==List==

{{legend|wheat|[[Acting president|Acting President]] (3)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|Independent politician}}" | President was an Independent candidate (5)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}" |President was a candidate of [[Indian National Congress]] (INC) (7)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}" |President was a candidate of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) (1)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend|{{party color|Janata Party}}" |President was a candidate of the [[Janata Party]] (JP) (1)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
;Key
{{Dagger|alt=Died in office}}-Died in office [[File:Invertedcross1.jpg|5px|alt=Did not complete assigned term]]-Resigned 

;Legend

{|class="wikitable sortable" id="pm list" style="width:100%; text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2" |№
! rowspan="2" |President {{small|(birth–death)}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! colspan="2" |Tenure
! rowspan="2" |Elected
! rowspan="2" |Political affiliation
(at time of appointment)
! rowspan="2" |[[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
|-
!Took office
!Left office
|-
! 1
! [[Rajendra Prasad]] {{small|(1884–1963)}}
| [[File:Rajendra Prasad (Indian President), signed image for Walter Nash (NZ Prime Minister), 1958 (16017609534).jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|26 January}} 1950
| {{nowrap|13 May}} 1962
| [[1952 Indian presidential election|1952]] [[1957 Indian presidential election|1957]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]]
|-
! 2
! [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]] {{small|(1888–1975)}}
| [[File:Photograph of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan presented to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|13 May}} 1962
| {{nowrap|13 May}} 1967
| [[1962 Indian presidential election|1962]]
| [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| Nehru [[Gulzarilal Nanda|Nanda]] [[Lal Bahadur Shastri|Shastri]] Nanda [[Indira Gandhi|Gandhi]]
|-
! 3
! [[Zakir Husain (politician)|Zakir Husain]] {{small|(1897–1969)}}
| [[File:President Zakir Husain 1998 stamp of India.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|13 May}} 1967
| {{nowrap|3 May}} 1969 {{small|(''died in office.'')}}
| [[1967 Indian presidential election|1967]]
| [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| Gandhi

|-
! 4
! [[V. V. Giri]] {{small|(1894–1980)}}
| [[File:10) V.V GIRI AUTOGRAPHED PENCIL SKETCH.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|3 May }} 1969
| {{nowrap|20 July}} 1969
| [[1969 Indian presidential election|1969]]
| [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| Gandhi
|-
! 5
!'''[[Mohammad Hidayatullah]]''' {{small|(1905–1992)}}
| [[File:Justice M. Hidayatullah.jpg|60px]]
|{{nowrap|20 July}} 1969
|{{nowrap|24 August}} 1969
|[[1969 Indian presidential election|1969]]
|[[Independent politician|Independent]]
| Gandhi
|-
! (4)
! [[V. V. Giri]] {{small|(1894–1980)}}
| [[File:V.V.Giri.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|24 August}} 1969
| {{nowrap|24 August}} 1974
| [[1969 Indian presidential election|1969]]
| [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| Gandhi
|-
! 6
! [[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]] {{small|(1905–1977)}}
| [[File:Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 1977 stamp of India.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|24 August}} 1974
| {{nowrap|11 February}} 1977 {{small|(''died in office.'')}}
| [[1974 Indian presidential election|1974]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi
|-
! 7
![[B. D. Jatti]] {{small|(1912–2002)}}
|
|{{nowrap|11 February}} 1977
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1977 
|—
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[Morarji Desai|Desai]]
|-
! 8
! [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]] {{small|(1913–1996)}}
| [[File:NeelamSanjeevaReddy.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1977
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1982
| [[1977 Indian presidential election|1977]]
| [[Janata Party]]
| Desai [[Charan Singh|Singh]] Gandhi
|-
! 9
![[Zail Singh|Giani Zail Singh]] {{small|(1916–1994)}}
|[[File:Giani Zail Singh 1995 stamp of India.jpg|60px]]
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1982
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1983
|[[1982 Indian presidential election|1982]]
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[Rajiv Gandhi|Gandhi]]
|-
! (5)
!'''[[Mohammad Hidayatullah]]''' {{small|(1905–1992)}}
|[[File:Justice_M._Hidayatullah.jpg|81x81px]]
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1983
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1983
|—
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[Rajiv Gandhi|Gandhi]]
|-
! (9)
![[Zail Singh|Giani Zail Singh]] {{small|(1916–1994)}}
|[[File:Giani Zail Singh 1995 stamp of India.jpg|60px]]
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1983
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1984
|—
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[Rajiv Gandhi|Gandhi]]
|-
! (5)
!'''[[Mohammad Hidayatullah]]''' {{small|(1905–1992)}}
|[[File:Justice_M._Hidayatullah.jpg|81x81px]]
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1984
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1984
|—
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[Rajiv Gandhi|Gandhi]]
|- br > Gandhi
! (9)
![[Zail Singh|Giani Zail Singh]] {{small|(1916–1994)}}
|[[File:Giani Zail Singh 1995 stamp of India.jpg|60px]]
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1984
|{{nowrap|25 July}} 1987
|—
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[Rajiv Gandhi|Gandhi]]
|-
! 10
! [[R. Venkataraman]] {{small|(1910–2009)}}
| [[File:R Venkataraman.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1987
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1992
| [[1987 Indian presidential election|1987]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| Gandhi [[V. P. Singh|Singh]] [[Chandra Shekhar|Shekhar]] [[P. V. Narasimha Rao|Rao]]
|-
! 11
![[Shankar Dayal Sharma]] {{small|(1918–1999)}}
| [[File:Shankar Dayal Sharma 36.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1992
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1997
| [[1992 Indian presidential election|1992]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| Rao [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee|Vajpayee]] [[H. D. Deve Gowda|Deve Gowda]] [[I. K. Gujral|Gujral]]
|-
! 12
! [[K. R. Narayanan]] {{small|(1920–2005)}}
| [[File:K. R. Narayanan.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 1997
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 2002
| [[1997 Indian presidential election|1997]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| Gujral [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee|Vajpayee]]
|-
! 13
! [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]] {{small|(1931–2015)}}
| [[File:A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2008.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 2002
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 2007
| [[2002 Indian presidential election|2002]]
|[[Independent politician|Independent]]
| Vajpayee [[Manmohan Singh|Singh]]
|-
! 14
! [[Pratibha Patil]] {{small|(1934–)}}
| [[File:PratibhaIndia.jpg|60px]]
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 2007
| {{nowrap|25 July}} 2012
| [[2007 Indian presidential election|2007]]
| [[Indian National Congress]]
|[[Manmohan Singh|Singh]]
|-
! 15
! [[Pranab Mukherjee]] {{small|(1935–2020)}}
| [[File:Pranab Mukherjee Portrait.jpg|60px]]
| 25 July 2012
| 25 July 2017
| [[2012 Indian presidential election|2012]]
|[[Indian National Congress]]
|[[Manmohan Singh|Singh]] [[Narendra Modi|Modi]]
|-
! 16
! [[Ram Nath Kovind]] {{small|(1945–)}}
| [[File:Ram Nath Kovind official portrait.jpg|60px]]
| 25 July 2017
| 25 July 2022
| [[2017 Indian presidential election|2017]]
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| [[Narendra Modi|Modi]]
|-
!17
![[Draupadi Murmu]] (1958 —)
|
|25 July 2022
|{{nowrap|''Incumbent''}}
|[[2022 Indian presidential election|2022]]
|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|[[Narendra Modi|Modi]]
|-
|}

== Acting presidents of India ==
This list is numbered based on vice presidents elected after winning an Indian Acting Presidential election. The Acting President of India does not represent any political party.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;margin-top:0.5em;"
!{{Tooltip|No.}}
! width="15%" |Name
{{small|(birth–death)}}
! class="unsortable" |Portrait
!Took office
!Left office
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |Party
|-
!—
|{{Sort|Pathak|[[Gopal Swarup Pathak]]}}
(1896–1982)
|
|31 August 1969
|31 August 1969
|[[Independent (politician)|Independent]]
|-
!—
|{{Sort|Hidayatullah|[[Mohammad Hidayatullah]]}}
(1905–1992)
|[[File:Justice_M._Hidayatullah.jpg|135x135px]]
|31 August 1979
|30 August 1984
|[[Independent (politician)|Independent]]
|-
!—
|{{Sort|Kant|[[Krishan Kant]]}}{{Dagger}}(1927–2002)
|[[File:Krishan_Kant_2005_stamp_of_India.jpg|alt=Krishna Kant|100x100px]]
|21 July 2001
|25 July 2001
|[[Janata Dal]]
|-
!—
|{{Sort|Shekhawat|[[Bhairon Singh Shekhawat]]}}
(1924–2010)
|[[File:BS_Shekhawat.jpg|alt=Bhairon Singh Shekhawat|147x147px]]
|1 July 2007
|21 July 2007
|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|-
! rowspan="2" |—
| rowspan="2" |{{Sort|Ansari|[[Mohammad Hamid Ansari]]}}
(1937–)
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Mohammad_Hamid_Ansari.JPG|alt=Hamid Ansari|102x102px]]
|11 August 2007
|11 August 2007
| rowspan="2" |[[Indian National Congress]]
|-
|11 August 2012
|11 August 2012
|-
!—
|{{Sort|Naidu|[[Venkaiah Naidu]]}}
(1949–)
|[[File:The_Vice_President,_Shri_M._Venkaiah_Naidu_addressing_the_gathering_on_the_occasion_of_100th_Birth_Anniversary_of_Shri_Dattopanth_Thengri,_in_New_Delhi_on_November_13,_2019_(cropped).JPG|alt=Venkaiah Naidu|115x115px]]
|11 August 2017
|11 August 2017
|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|}

==Statistics==

{{Pie chart
| caption= Representation of presidents by party of candidacy
| label1 = Indian National Congress
| value1 = 57.14| color1 = {{party color|Indian National Congress}}
| label2 = Independent
| value2 = 28.58| color2 = {{party color|Independent politician}}
| label3 = Bharatiya Janata Party
| value3 = 7.14| color3 = {{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
| label4 = Janata Party
| value4 = 7.14| 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:INC value:rgb(0.435,0.85,0.866) legend:INC
id:JP value:blue legend:JP
id:BJP value:orange legend:BJP
id:idp value:gray(0.8) legend:Independent
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:"[[Rajendra Prasad|Prasad]]" fontsize:10
from: 13/05/1962 till: 13/05/1967 color:idp text:"[[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|Radhakrishnan]]" fontsize:10
from: 13/05/1967 till: 03/05/1969 color:idp text:"[[Zakir Husain (politician)|Husain]]" fontsize:10
from: 03/05/1969 till: 20/07/1969 color:idp text:"[[Varahagiri Venkata Giri|Giri]] (acting)" fontsize:10
from: 20/07/1969 till: 24/08/1969 color:idp text:"[[Mohammad Hidayatullah|Hidayatullah]] (acting)" fontsize:10
from: 24/08/1969 till: 24/08/1974 color:idp text:"[[Varahagiri Venkata Giri|Giri]]" fontsize:10
from: 24/08/1974 till: 11/02/1977 color:INC text:"[[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed|Ahmed]]" fontsize:10
from: 11/02/1977 till: 25/07/1977 color:INC text:"[[Basappa Danappa Jatti|Jatti]] (acting)" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/1977 till: 25/07/1982 color:JP text:"[[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy|Reddy]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/1982 till: 25/07/1987 color:INC text:"[[Zail Singh|Singh]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/1987 till: 25/07/1992 color:INC text:"[[Ramaswamy Venkataraman|Venkataraman]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/1992 till: 25/07/1997 color:INC text:"[[Shankar Dayal Sharma|Sharma]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/1997 till: 25/07/2002 color:INC text:"[[Kocheril Raman Narayanan|Narayanan]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/2002 till: 25/07/2007 color:idp text:"[[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam|Kalam]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/2007 till: 25/07/2012 color:INC text:"[[Pratibha Patil|Patil]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/2012 till:25/07/2017 color:INC text:"[[Pranab Mukherjee|Mukherjee]]" fontsize:10
from: 25/07/2017 till:end color:BJP text:"[[Ram Nath Kovind|Kovind]]" fontsize:10 }}

==See also==
* [[President of India]]
* [[Vice President of India]]
* [[Prime Minister of India]]
* [[List of vice presidents of India]]
* [[List of prime ministers of India]]
* [[List of heads of state and government of Indian origin]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{official|http://presidentofindia.nic.in/|The President of India (official site)}}
* {{official|http://www.india.gov.in// |India portal (official site)}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Presidents of India}}
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List of presidents of India