List of Presidents of India (1947-2009)

RADHE KRISHNA 19-07-2012 List of Presidents of India (1947-2009) Radhe Krishna 19-07-2012 List of Presidents of India (1947-2009) No Name Tookoffice Leftoffice Political party Notes 1 Rajendra Prasad 26-Jan-1950 13-May-1962 Indian National Congress Prasad was the first President of independent India. He was also an independence activist of the Indian Independence Movement. Prasad was the only president to serve for two terms in office. 2 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 13-May-1962 13-May-1967 Independent Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher, writer, a Knight of the Realm and also held the position of vice chancellor of the Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University. Hewas also made a Knight of the Golden Army of Angels by Pope Paul VI. 3 Zakir Hussain 13-May-1967 3-May-1969 Independent Hussain was vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. He died before his term of office was ended. Varahagiri Venkata Giri * 3-May-1969 20-Jul-1969 Independent Giri was appointed as acting president following the death of Hussain. He resigned in a few months to take partin the presidential elections. Muhammad Hidayatullah * 20-Jul-1969 24-Aug-1969 Independent Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India, and was a recipient of the Order of the British Empire. He served as acting president until the election of Giri as the President of India. 4 Varahagiri Venkata Giri 24-Aug-1969 24-Aug-1974 Independent Giri is the only person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient ofthe Bharat Ratna, and has functioned as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). 5 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 24-Aug-1974 11-Feb-1977 Indian National Congress 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 have diedduring a term of office. Basappa Danappa Jatti * 11-Feb-1977 25-Jul-1977 Independent Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed's term of office, and was sworn in as acting president upon Ahmed's death. He earlier functioned as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore. 6 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 25-Jul-1977 25-Jul-1982 Janata Party Reddy was the only Member ofParliament 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 ofIndia. 7 Giani Zail Singh 25-Jul-1982 25-Jul-1987 Indian National Congress In March 1972, Singh assumed the position of chief Minister of Punjab, and in 1980, he became Union Home Minister. 8 Ramaswamy Venkataraman 25-Jul-1987 25-Jul-1992 Indian National Congress In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in the India's 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 joinedthe central government, where he first served as Minister of Finance and Industry and later as Minister of Defence. 9 Shankar Dayal Sharma 25-Jul-1992 25-Jul-1997 Indian National Congress Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He has also served as the governor of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra. 10 Kocheril Raman Narayanan 25-Jul-1997 25-Jul-2002 Independent 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. 11 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 25-Jul-2002 25-Jul-2007 Independent Kalam was a scientist who played a leading role in the development of India's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. Kalam also received the Bharat Ratna. 12 Pratibha Patil 25-Jul-2007 Incumbent Indian National Congress Patil was the first woman to become President of India. She was also the first female Governor of Rajasthan