List of All Presidents of India

President is an official who is chosen to preside over a meeting or over an assembly. He is an appointed governor of a political unit that functions subordinately. He resides over that organisation being the chief officer and is usually entrusted with the direction and with the administration of its policies. In this section, we will talk about the presidents of India who functioned as a chief serving the subordinate organisation. We will present all presidents lists of India with their respective tenure. 

History of Presidency in India

On 26 November in the year 1949 marked the adoption of the Constitution of India while it came into force on 26th January in the year 1950. At that time the Rajendra Prasad was the first constitutional head of the state, the President of India. The President is represented as the head of the Republic of India, and he is also honoured as the first citizen of India. Article 53 of the Indian Constitution states that all the executive powers of the Union are to be exercised by him either directly or via the officers who are subordinate under him.

List of Indian Presidents

Now we will present all presidents lists of India. The list of all presidents of India from 1947 to 2017 with tenure are presented in the following section, while the presidents of India from 1947 to 2021 with a brief introduction about them will be presented in the forthcoming section.

President List of India From 1947 to 2021 

Dr Rajendra Prasad

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Fig: The first President of India - Dr Rajendra Prasad. 

He had worked as president for two terms serving the cabinet. He was also elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly and the Chief Leader who fought the Indian Independence Movement. Dr Rajendra Prasad was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1962.

Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

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Fig: Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, this president of India, was born on 5th September in the year 1888, and in honour of this day, Teachers’ Day is celebrated. Radhakrishnan was awarded and honoured with the Bharat Ratna in the year 1954.

Dr Zakir Husain

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Fig: Dr Zakir Husain

Dr Zakir Husain was elected as the first Muslim President of India, and he died at his post. The immediate Vice President, who was residing - V.V. Giri. V.V. Giri was made the acting President at that time. After which, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court named Mohammad Hidayatullah. He became the acting President from 20 July in the year 1969 to 24 August in the year 1969. 
Mohammad Hidayatullah was being awarded the Padma Bhushan, where he excelled in the field of art. He was awarded by the Government of India in the year 2002. Mohammad also brought a revolution of education in India at that time.

V. V. Giri

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Fig:  V. V. Giri

V.V Giri became the fourth President of India. His full name was expanded to Varahagiri Venkata Giri. Giri became the only independent candidate person who was elected as the President. In the year 1975, Giri was awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

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Fig: The fifth President of India – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

He was another President who died in the post of the President. After which BD Jattha was made the Acting President.

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy

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Fig: Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the sixth serving President of India. He was also appointed as the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Reddy was directly elected to the post from the Lok Sabha Speaker, and he became the youngest President who occupied the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Also, he contested twice for the post of president.

Giani Zail Singh

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Fig: Giani Zail Singh

Before becoming the President, Giana Zail Singh was also the Chief Minister of Punjab, and he was elected as the Minister at the Centre as well. He also used the Pocket Veto on the Indian Post Office Bill. At the time of his presidency, many incidents took place, like Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

R. Venkataraman

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Fig: R. Venkataraman

R. Venkataraman was elected as the President of India from the 25th of July in the year 1987 to the 25th of July in the year 1992. Earlier Venkataraman was the Vice-President of India from the year 1984 to 1987. Venkataraman also has received many honours from different parts of the world. 

Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma

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Fig: Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma

Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma was the eighth Vice President of India. He was elected as Vice-President before becoming the president. From the year 1952 to the year 1956, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma was the Chief Minister of Bhopal and the cabinet minister from the year 1956 to 1967. 

K R Narayanan

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Fig: K R Narayanan

K. R. Narayanan was elected as the first Dalit President of India, and also, he was the first Malayali person to receive the highest office in the country. Narayanan was the first President to vote in the Lok Sabha elections, and he was addressed in the state assembly as well.

Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam

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Fig: Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam

Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam was popularly known as the ‘Missile Man of India’. Kalam was the first scientist who took over the post of President and the also the first President of India who won the maximum number of votes. In his reign, Rohini-1 satellites, Agni and Prithvi missiles were successfully launched. Abdul Kalam was awarded the Bharat Ratna in the year 1997.

Shrimati Pratibha Singh Patil

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Fig: Shrimati Pratibha Singh Patil

Shrimati Pratibha Singh Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan before she became the President. From the year 1962 to the year 1985, she was a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly five times and was also elected from the Amravati to the Lok Sabha in the year 1991. Yet another achievement is, she is also the first woman president to fly the Sukhoi.

Pranab Mukherjee

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Fig: Pranab Mukherjee

Pranab Mukherjee is known as the finance minister in the central government before he contested for the presidential election. Pranab Mukherjee was also awarded the best Parliamentary Award in the year 1997 and Padma Vibhushan. He got his second-highest civilian honour in the year 2008. Pranab Mukherjee died on 31 August in the year 2020 (on Monday) at the age of 84. Pranab Mukherjee was tested positive for corona and was in a coma after the brain surgery earlier this month.

Ram Nath Kovind

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Fig: Ram Nath Kovind

Ram Nath Kovind was born on 1st October in the year 1945 in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Kovind is an Indian lawyer and also politician. He is the 14th and the current President serving India. Kovind became the President on the 25the of July 2017, and he is a member of the Bhartiya Janata Party (abbreviated as BJP). He is known as the former Governor of Bihar. Ram Nath Kovind’s approach towards the political problems of India earned him praise across the entire political spectrum. 

Did You Know?

• No law can be imposed in India without the President's signature, which is called the president’s assent. 

• Rajendra Prasad had the longest tenure of service as he served his position twice. 

• Zakir Hussain was the shortest-serving president of India.

• Reddy is the first President of India who was also the Chief Minister of a state. 

• Also, Reddy was the first President of India who was also the speaker of Lok Sabha. 

• A.P.J Abdul Kalam was the only scientist to become the President of India.