kids encyclopedia robot

List of presidents of India facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts


The president of India is the head of state of the Republic of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The president is referred to as the first citizen of India. 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.

The president is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Saasana Sabha or Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies. 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 15 presidents of India since the post was established when India was declared as a republic with the adoption of the Indian constitution in 1950. Apart from these fifteen, three acting presidents have also been in office for short periods of time. Varahagiri Venkata Giri became the acting president in 1969 after 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.

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 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, Varahagiri Venkata Giri, was elected. When Giri resigned to take part in the presidential elections, he was succeeded by M. Hidayatullah as acting president. The 12th president, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, is the first woman to hold the office, elected in 2007.

On 25 July 2022, Droupadi Murmu took office as the 15th president of India, becoming the second woman and the first tribal person to hold the office.

List

This list is numbered based on presidents elected after winning an Indian presidential election. The terms of Varahagiri Venkata Giri, M. Hidayatullah and B. D. Jatti, who served as acting president are therefore not numbered or counted as actual terms in office. The president of India does not represent any political party. The colors used in the table indicate the following:

No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

Home state Former Office(s) Term of office Election Election Map Vice President Political party
Assumed office Left office Time in office
Interim Rajendra Prasad (Indian President), signed image for Walter Nash (NZ Prime Minister), 1958 (16017609534).jpg Rajendra Prasad
(1884–1963)
Bihar Minister of Agriculture 26 January 1950 13 May 1952 12 years, 107 days 1950 1947 Indian Presidential Election.svg Indian National Congress
1 13 May 1952 13 May 1957 1952 1952 Indian Presidential Election.svg Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
13 May 1957 13 May 1962 1957 1957 Indian Presidential Election.svg
2 Photograph of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan presented to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.jpg Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)
Tamil Nadu Vice President of India 13 May 1962 13 May 1967 5 years 1962 1962 Indian Presidential Election Map.svg Zakir Husain Independent
3 President Zakir Husain 1998 stamp of India (cropped).jpg Zakir Husain
(1897–1969)
Andhra Pradesh Vice President of India

Governor of Bihar

13 May 1967 3 May 1969 1 year, 355 days 1967 1967 Indian Presidential Election Map.svg Varahagiri Venkata Giri
Acting VV Giri 1974 stamp of India (cropped).jpg Varahagiri Venkata Giri
(1894–1980)
Odisha Vice President of India 3 May 1969 20 July 1969 78 days
Acting Hidayatullah.png M. Hidayatullah
(1905–1992)
Chhattisgarh Chief Justice of India 20 July 1969 24 August 1969 35 days
4 VV Giri 1974 stamp of India (cropped).jpg Varahagiri Venkata Giri
(1894–1980)
Odisha Vice President of India

Governor of Kerala

24 August 1969 24 August 1974 5 years 1969 1969 Indian Presidential Election.svg Gopal Swarup Pathak
5 President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.jpg Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977)
National Capital Territory of Delhi Minister of Agriculture 24 August 1974 11 February 1977 2 years, 171 days 1974 1974 Indian Presidential Election.svg Gopal Swarup Pathak

B. D. Jatti

Indian National Congress
Acting B.D Jatti (enhanced).jpg B.D. Jatti
(1912–2002)
Karnataka Chief Minister of Karnataka 11 February 1977 25 July 1977 164 days
6 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (cropped).jpg Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh 25 July 1977 25 July 1982 5 years 1977 1979 Indian Presidential Election Map.svg B. D. Jatti

M. Hidayatullah

Janata Party
7 Giani Zail Singh 1995 stamp of India (cropped).png Giani Zail Singh
(1916–1994)
Punjab Chief Minister of Punjab 25 July 1982 25 July 1987 5 years 1982 1982 Indian Presidential Election.svg M. Hidayatullah

R. Venkataraman

Indian National Congress
8 Ramaswamy Venkataraman (2012 stamp of India) (cropped).jpg R. Venkataraman
(1910–2009)
Tamil Nadu Vice President of India

Minister of Defence

25 July 1987 25 July 1992 5 years 1987 Indian presidential election, 1987.svg Shankar Dayal Sharma
9 Shanker Dayal Sharma.jpg Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999)
Madhya Pradesh Vice President of India

Governor of Maharashtra

25 July 1992 25 July 1997 5 years 1992 1992 Indian Presidential Election.svg K. R. Narayanan
10 President Clinton with Indian president K. R. Narayanan (cropped).jpg K. R. Narayanan
(1920–2005)
Kerala Vice President of India 25 July 1997 25 July 2002 5 years 1997 Indian presidential election, 1997.svg Krishan Kant
11 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.jpg A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(1931–2015)
Tamil Nadu Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister 25 July 2002 25 July 2007 5 years 2002 Indian presidential election, 2002.svg Krishan Kant

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

Independent
12 The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil.jpg Pratibha Devisingh Patil
(1934–Present)
Maharashtra Governor of Rajasthan 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 5 years 2007 2007 Indian Presidential Election.svg M. Hamid Ansari Indian National Congress
13 Pranab Mukherjee Portrait (cropped).jpg Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020)
West Bengal Minister of Defence

Minister of Finance

Minister of External Affairs

25 July 2012 25 July 2017 5 years 2012 Indian presidential election 2012.svg
14 Ram Nath Kovind official portrait.jpg Ram Nath Kovind
(1945–Present)
Uttar Pradesh Governor of Bihar 25 July 2017 25 July 2022 5 years 2017 Indian presidential election, 2017.svg M. Hamid Ansari

M. Venkaiah Naidu

Bharatiya Janata Party
15 President Droupadi Murmu official portrait higher version.jpg Droupadi Murmu
(1958–Present)
Odisha Governor of Jharkhand 25 July 2022 Incumbent 2 years, 153 days 2022 2022 Indian Presidential Election.svg M. Venkaiah Naidu

Jagdeep Dhankhar

Statistics




Circle frame-1.svg

Representation of presidents by party of candidacy      Indian National Congress (53.33%)     Independent (26.67%)     Bharatiya Janata Party (13.33%)     Janata Party (6.67%)

Timeline
Droupadi Murmu Ram Nath Kovind Pranab Mukherjee Pratibha Devisingh Patil A. P. J. Abdul Kalam K. R. Narayanan Shankar Dayal Sharma R. Venkataraman Zail Singh Neelam Sanjiva Reddy B. D. Jatti Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Varahagiri Venkata Giri M. Hidayatullah Varahagiri Venkata Giri Zakir Husain (politician) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Rajendra Prasad

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de la India para niños

kids search engine
List of presidents of India Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.