List of Presidents of India

List of Presidents of India

1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad

From: 26 January 1950
To: 13 May 1962
Vice-President: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Rajendra Prasad, from Bihar, was the first president of independent India and also the longest-serving president, as the only president to serve two or more terms in office. He remained in office for 12 years and 107 days. He was also a freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement.

2. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

From: 13 May 1962
To: 13 May 1967
Vice-President: Zakir Husain
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer and also held the position of vice-chancellor of the Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University. He received the Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President. He was the first president from South India.

3. Zakir Husain

From: 13 May 1967
To: 03 May 1969
Vice-President: Varahagiri Venkata Giri
Zakir Husain was vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. He died in office, the first to do so. He was also the shortest-serving President. He was also the first Muslim President.

Varahagiri Venkata Giri (Acting President)

From: 03 May 1969
To: 20 July 1969
Vice-President: –
He was elected Vice President of India in 1967. Following the death of President Zakir Husain, Giri was appointed as Acting President. He resigned after a few months to take part in the presidential elections.

Mohammad Hidayatullah (Acting President)

From: 20 July 1969
To: 24 August 1969
Vice-President: –
Mohammad Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India and was also a recipient of the Order of the British Empire. He served as Acting President until the election of VV Giri as the President of India.

4. Varahagiri Venkata Giri

From: 24 August 1969
To: 24 August 1974
Vice-President: Gopal Swarup Pathak
VV Giri was the first person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and served as Labour and Employment Minister and High Commissioner to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

5. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

From: 24 August 1974
To: 11 February 1977
Vice-Presidents: Gopal Swarup Pathak (1974) and Basappa Danappa Jatti (1974–1977)
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. He was also president during Emergency.

Basappa Danappa Jatti (Acting President)

From: 11 February 1977
To: 25 July 1977
Vice-President: –
Jatti was the vice president of India during FA Ahmed’s term of office, and was sworn in as Acting President upon Ahmed’s death. He earlier served as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore State.

6. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

From: 25 July 1977
To: 25 July 1982
Vice-Presidents: Basappa Danappa Jatti (1977–1979) and Mohammad Hidayatullah (1979–1982)
Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Reddy was the only Member of Parliament from the Janata Party to get elected from Andhra Pradesh. 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.

7. Zail Singh

From: 25 July 1982
To: 25 July 1987
Vice-Presidents: Mohammad Hidayatullah (1982–1984) and Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1984–1987)
In March 1972, Singh assumed the position of Chief Minister of Punjab, and in 1980, he became Union Home Minister. He was also secretary general to Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) from 1983 to 1986.

8. Ramaswamy Venkataraman

From: 25 July 1987
To: 25 July 1992
Vice-President: Shankar Dayal Sharma
In 1942, R Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in the Indian independence movement. 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.

9. Shankar Dayal Sharma

From: 25 July 1992
To: 25 July 1997
Vice-President: Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Shankar Dayal Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh , and the Indian Minister for Communications. He also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh , Punjab and Maharashtra.

10. Kocheril Raman Narayanan

From: 25 July 1997
To: 25 July 2002
Vice-President: Krishan Kant
KR 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. He was also the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was the first Dalit President.

11. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

From: 25 July 2002
To: 25 July 2007
Vice-Presidents: Krishan Kant (2002) and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2002–2007)
Kalam was an educator and engineer who played a leading role in the development of India’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. He also received the Bharat Ratna. He was popularly known as People’s President.

12. Pratibha Patil

From: 25 July 2007
To: 25 July 2012
Vice-President: Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Patil was the first woman to become the President of India. She was also the first female governor of Rajasthan.

13. Pranab Mukherjee

From: 25 July 2012
To: 25 July 2017
Vice-President: Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministry for the Government of India such as Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

14. Ram Nath Kovind

From: 25 July 2017
To: Incumbent
Vice-President: Venkaiah Naidu
Kovind was governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2006. He is the second Dalit president (after K. R. Narayanan ) and is the first president from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).