List of all Presidents of India

Name
(Birth–Death)
PortraitElectedTook officeLeft officeVice President
1Rajendra Prasad
(1884–1963)
Food Minister Rajendra Prasad during a radio broadcast in Dec 1947 cropped.jpg1952
1957
26 January 195012 May 1962Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Prasad, from Bihar, was the first President of independent India, and also the longest-serving President, for 12 years.[8][9] He was also a freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement.[10] Prasad was the only president to serve two terms in office.[4]
2Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)
Photograph of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan presented to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.jpg196213 May 196213 May 1967Zakir Husain
Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer and also held the position of vice chancellor of the Andhra University andBanaras Hindu University.[11] He was also made a Knight of the Golden Army of Angels by Pope Paul VI. He received Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President.[12] He was the first President from South India.
3Zakir Husain
(1897–1969)
No image.png196713 May 19673 May 1969Varahagiri Venkata Giri
Hussain was vice chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.[13] 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 *
(1894–1980)
No image.png3 May 196920 July 1969
He was elected Vice President of India in 1967. Following the death of President Zakir Hussain, Giri was appointed as Acting President of India.[14] He resigned in a few months to take part in the presidential elections.[5]
Mohammad Hidayatullah *
(1905–1992)
No image.png20 July 196924 August 1969
Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India, and was a recipient of the Order of the British Empire.[15] He served as Acting President of India until the election of Giri as the President of India.
4Varahagiri Venkata Giri
(1894–1980)
No image.png196924 August 196924 August 1974Gopal Swarup Pathak
Giri is the only person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and has functioned as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).[16]
5Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977)
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, President of India (cropped).jpg197424 August 197411 February 1977Basappa Danappa Jatti
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.[17]
Basappa Danappa Jatti *
(1912–2002)
No image.png11 February 197725 July 1977
Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed's term of office, and was sworn in as Acting President of India upon Ahmed's death. He earlier functioned as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore.[17][18]
6Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
NeelamSanjeevaReddy.jpg197725 July 197725 July 1982Basappa Danappa Jatti
N.S. Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State. Reddy was the only Member of Parliament from the Janata Party to get elected from Andhra Pradesh.[19] 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.
7Giani Zail Singh
(1916–1994)
Giani Zail Singh (cropped).jpg198225 July 198225 July 1987Muhammad Hidayatullah
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[20]
8Ramaswamy Venkataraman
(1910–2009)
R Venkataraman.jpg198725 July 198725 July 1992Shankar Dayal Sharma
In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in the Indian independence movement.[21] 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.[22]
9Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999)
Shankar Dayal Sharma 36.jpg199225 July 199225 July 1997Kocheril Raman Narayanan
Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He has also served as the governor ofAndhra PradeshPunjab and Maharashtra.[23]
10Kocheril Raman Narayanan
(1920–2005)
K. R. Narayanan.jpg199725 July 199725 July 2002Krishan Kant
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.[24] He was also the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.[25] He was the first President from Kerala, and also the first Dalit President.
11A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(1931–2015)
Kalaam.jpg200225 July 200225 July 2007Krishan Kant
Kalam was a scientist who played a leading role in the development of India's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.[26] He also received the Bharat Ratna. Kalam was affectionately known as the People's President, due to his extra-Presidential activities. He was the first bachelor president of India, and the first Muslim President who completed his term. Kalam died following a heart attack while delivering a speech in Shillong. [27][28][29]
12Pratibha Patil
(1934–)
Pratibha Patil 2012-02-27.jpg200725 July 200725 July 2012Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Patil was the first woman to become the President of India. She was also the first female Governor of Rajasthan.[30][31]
13Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–)
Secretary Tim Geithner and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee 2010 crop.jpg201225 July 2012IncumbentMohammad Hamid Ansari
Pranab Mukherjee held various posts in the cabinet ministry for the Government of India such as Finance MinisterForeign Minister,Defence Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.[6]
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