10/25/2016 List of Presidents of India Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_India 1/6
The Main Gate of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the
President of India
List of Presidents of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The President of India is the head of state
and first citizen of India. The President is
also the CommanderinChief of the Indian
Armed Forces.
[1]
Although the president is
vested such powers by the Constitution of
India, the position is largely a ceremonial
role and the executive powers are de facto
exercised by the Cabinet Ministers and
Prime Minister.
[2]
The post of President is
known in Hindi as Rashtrapati, a Sanskrit
neologism meaning "lord of the realm". The
President is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies.
[1]
There have been 13 presidents of India since the introduction of the post in 1950. The post was established
when India was declared as a republic with the adoption of the Indian constitution.
[3]
Apart from these thirteen,
three acting presidents have also been in office for short periods of time. Varahagiri Venkata Giri became
Acting President of India in 1969 following the death of Zakir Hussain, who 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. The President 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.
[1]
Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, is the only person to have held office for two terms.
[4]
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 Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, have died in office. Their
vicepresidents functioned as acting president until a new president was elected. Following Hussain's death, two
acting presidents held office until the new president, Varahagiri Venkata Giri, was elected. Varahagiri Venkata
Giri himself, Hussain's vice president, was the first acting president. When Giri resigned to take part in the
presidential elections, he was superseded by Muhammad Hidayatullah as acting president.
[5]
The current
President is Pranab Mukherjee elected on 25 July 2012. 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. He originally comes from West Bengal and is also the first Bengali to
hold the post of the President.
[6]
The ex president, Pratibha Patil, who was in office till 25 July 2012, was
elected as the 12th President of India in 2007. She is also the first woman to serve as President of India.
[7]
Contents
1Presidents
2See also
3References
4External links
Presidents