List of Presidents of India - Wikipedia List of Presidents of India Rashtrapati Bhavan official residence of the President of India Ram Nath Kovind, the current President of India The President of India is the head of state of India and the commander - in - chief 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 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. Representation of Presidents by party of candidacy Independent ( 29.6 % ) Indian National Congress ( 41.2 % ) Bharatiya Janata Party ( 5.8 % ) Janata Party ( 5.8 % ) Acting ( 17.6 % ) There have been 14 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 fourteen, 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. Presidents by state of birth 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, V.V. Giri, was elected. When Giri resigned to take part in the presidential elections, he was succeeded by Mohammad Hidayatullah as acting President. The 12th President, Pratibha Patil, is the first woman to serve as President of India, elected in 2007. On 25 July 2017, Ram Nath Kovind took office as the 14th President of India. Contents 1 Presidents 2 See also 3 References 3.1 General 3.2 Specific 4 External links Presidents This list is numbered based on Presidents elected after winning an Indian Presidential election. The terms of Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah, and Basappa Danappa 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 colours used in the table indicate the following : Colour key Acting President of India President was an Independent candidate President was an candidate of Indian National Congress ( INC ) President was an candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) President was an candidate of the Janata Party ( JP ) No Name ( birth -- death ) Photograph Elected Took office Left office Term ( in months ) Vice President Candidate of Notes Rajendra Prasad ( 1884 -- 1963 ) 1952 1957 26 January 1950 12 May 1962 120 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Indian National Congress Prasad, from Bihar, was the first President of independent India and also the longest - serving President, as the only president to serve two terms in office. He was also a freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ( 1888 -- 1975 ) 1962 13 May 1962 13 May 1967 60 Zakir Husain Independent Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer and also held the position of vice-chancellor of the Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University. He received the Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President. He was the first President from South India. Zakir Husain ( 1897 -- 1969 ) -- 1967 13 May 1967 3 May 1969 24 Varahagiri Venkata Giri Independent Husain was vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. 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 ) -- -- 3 May 1969 20 July 1969 -- -- He was elected Vice President of India in 1967. Following the death of President Zakir Husain, Giri was appointed as Acting President. He resigned after a few months to take part in the presidential elections. -- Mohammad Hidayatullah ( 1905 -- 1992 ) -- -- 20 July 1969 24 August 1969 -- -- Hidayatullah served as the Chief Justice of India and was also a recipient of the Order of the British Empire. He served as Acting President until the election of Giri as the President of India. Varahagiri Venkata Giri ( 1894 -- 1980 ) -- 1969 24 August 1969 24 August 1974 60 Gopal Swarup Pathak Independent Giri was the first person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and served as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ). Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed ( 1905 -- 1977 ) 24 August 1974 11 February 1977 36 Gopal Swarup Pathak ( 1974 ) Basappa Danappa Jatti ( 1974 -- 1977 ) Indian National Congress 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. He was also president during Emergency. -- Basappa Danappa Jatti ( 1912 -- 2002 ) -- -- 11 February 1977 25 July 1977 6 -- -- 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 served as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore State. 6 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy ( 1913 -- 1996 ) 1977 25 July 1977 25 July 1982 60 Basappa Danappa Jatti ( 1977 -- 1979 ) Mohammad Hidayatullah ( 1979 -- 1982 ) Janata Party Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Reddy was the only Member of Parliament 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 of India. 7 Zail Singh ( 1916 -- 1994 ) 1982 25 July 1982 25 July 1987 60 Mohammad Hidayatullah ( 1982 -- 1984 ) Ramaswamy Venkataraman ( 1984 -- 1987 ) Indian National Congress 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 8 Ramaswamy Venkataraman ( 1910 -- 2009 ) 25 July 1987 25 July 1992 60 Shankar Dayal Sharma Indian National Congress In 1942, Venkataraman was jailed by the British for his involvement in the Indian 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 joined the central government, where he first served as Minister of Finance and Industry and later as Minister of Defence. 9 Shankar Dayal Sharma ( 1918 -- 1999 ) 25 July 1992 25 July 1997 60 Kocheril Raman Narayanan Indian National Congress Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra. 10 Kocheril Raman Narayanan ( 1920 -- 2005 ) 25 July 1997 25 July 2002 60 Krishan Kant 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. He was the first Dalit President. 11 Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( 1931 -- 2015 ) 2002 25 July 2002 25 July 2007 60 Krishan Kant ( 2002 ) Bhairon Singh Shekhawat ( 2002 -- 2007 ) Independent Kalam was an educator and engineer who played a leading role in the development of India 's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. He also received the Bharat Ratna. Kalam died following a heart attack while delivering a speech in Shillong. 12 Pratibha Patil ( 1934 -- ) 2007 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 60 Mohammad Hamid Ansari Indian National Congress Patil was the first woman to become the President of India. She was also the first female governor of Rajasthan. 13 Pranab Mukherjee ( 1935 -- ) 2012 25 July 2012 25 July 2017 60 Mohammad Hamid Ansari Indian National Congress 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. 14 Ram Nath Kovind ( 1945 -- ) 2017 25 July 2017 Incumbent -- Venkaiah Naidu Bharatiya Janata Party Kovind was governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2006. He is the second Dalit president ( after K.R. Narayanan ) and is the first President from the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) and is an active member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS ) since his youth. Other Symbols - Died in office - Did not complete assigned term - Acting President Timeline See also President of India Vice-President of India List of Vice-Presidents of India List of Prime Ministers of India References General `` Former Presidents ''. President 's Secretariat. Retrieved 29 November 2008. `` List of Presidents / Vice Presidents ''. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 29 November 2008. Specific Jump up ^ `` President Ram Nath Kovind is Indias first citizen. Your chances begin only at Number 27 ''. indiatoday.com. Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` The Constitution of India ''. Ministry of Law and Justice of India. Archived from the original (. doc ) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009. Jump up ^ `` India gets first woman president since independence ''. BBC News. 25 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2008. 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India. 10 December 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2008. Jump up ^ Ramachandra Guha ( 15 April 2006 ). `` Why Amartya Sen should become the next president of India ''. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2008. Jump up ^ `` Dr S. Radhakrishnan ''. The Sunday Tribune. 30 January 2000. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2008. Jump up ^ `` Commemorative Volume on S. Radhakrishnan '' ( PDF ). rajyasabha.nic.in. Rajya sabha. Archived ( PDF ) from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` Zakir Husain, ''. Vice President 's Secretariat. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2008. Jump up ^ `` 7 leaders who died while in office ''. India Today. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017. Jump up ^ `` Shekhawat need not compare himself to Giri : Shashi Bhushan ''. The Hindu. 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Vice President 's Secretariat. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2008. Jump up ^ `` The BJP 's aim was to get rid of me ''. Confederation of Human Rights Organizations. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009. Jump up ^ `` Can Ram Nath Kovind, second Dalit President, follow in the footsteps of first Dalit President KR Narayanan ? ''. India Today. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017. Jump up ^ Ramana, M.V. ; Reddy, C. Rammanohar ( 2002 ). Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream. New Delhi : Orient Longman. p. 169. ISBN 978 - 81 - 250 - 2477 - 4. Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Jump up ^ Tyagi, Kavita ; Misra, Padma ( 23 May 2011 ). Basic Technical Communication. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 124. ISBN 978 - 81 - 203 - 4238 - 5. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2012. Jump up ^ `` ' Kalam was real people 's President ' ''. Hindustan Times. 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Retrieved 25 October 2017. External links Official website of the President of India Rediff.com -- Presidents of India The Hindu -- A presidential poll in the coalition age Zee News : Former Presidents Presidents of India ( List ) Rajendra Prasad Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Zakir Hussain V.V. Giri ( acting ) Mohammad Hidayatullah ( acting ) V.V. Giri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed B.D. Jatti ( acting ) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Zail Singh R. Venkataraman Shankar Dayal Sharma K.R. Narayanan A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Pratibha Patil Pranab Mukherjee Ram Nath Kovind Lists of Presidents and Vice Presidents of India Presidential lists by order Order of service Age Birth Death Number Living Time in office Presidents ' personal lives College education Place of birth Place of primary affiliation Previous occupation Religious affiliation Presidents ' professional lives Political affiliation Previous experience Inaugurations ( Addresses ) Pardons Vacancies Vice Presidential lists Order of service Time in office Birth Longevity Vacancies Succession Line of succession Government ministries of India President ( List ) Government of India Prime Minister ( List Office ) Deputy Prime Minister Council of Ministers Current Agriculture and Farmers Welfare AYUSH Chemicals and Fertilizers Civil Aviation Coal Commerce and Industry Communications Consumer Affairs Culture Defence Drinking Water and Sanitation Earth Sciences Electronics and Information Technology Environment, Forest and Climate Change External Affiars Finance Food Processing Industries Health and Family Welfare Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Home Affairs Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Human Resource Development Information and Broadcasting Labour and Employment Law and Justice Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Mines Minority Affairs New and Renewable Energy North East Panchayati Raj Parliamentary Affairs Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Petroleum Power Railways Road Transport and Highways Rural Development Science and Technology Shipping Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Social Justice and Empowerment Statistics and Programme Implementation Steel Textiles Tourism Tribal Affairs Urban Development Water Resources Women and Child Development Defunct Communications and Information Technology Overseas Indian Affairs Surface Transport Ministers Defence External Affairs Finance Health and Family Welfare Home Affairs Human Resource Development Information and Broadcasting Labour and Employment Law and Justice North Eastern Region Parliamentary Affairs Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Railways Science and Technology Tribal Affairs Secretaries Cabinet Defence Finance Foreign Home Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Presidents_of_India&oldid=833794376 '' Categories : Lists of national presidents Lists relating to the Indian presidency Lists of political office - holders in India Hidden categories : CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism Use Indian English from December 2012 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from November 2017 Featured lists Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia অসমীয়া বাংলা Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français ગુજરાતી हिन्दी Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ಕನ್ನಡ Lëtzebuergesch मैथिली മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands Norsk Occitan ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Português संस्कृतम् Suomi தமிழ் తెలుగు Türkçe اردو 中文 24 more Edit links This page was last edited on 2 April 2018, at 13 : 23. 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Question: who became the first president of free india
Answer: Rajendra Prasad