List of heads of state of India

This is a list of the heads of state of India, from the time of independence of India in 1947 to present day. The current head of state of India is Ram Nath Kovind, elected in 2017 after being nominated by BJP, the party run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

From 1947 to 1950, the head of state under the Indian Independence Act 1947 was regarded as the king of India, who was also the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Dominions of the British Commonwealth. The monarch was represented in India by a Governor-General. India became a republic under the Constitution of 1950 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President.

Monarch (1947–1950)
The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

№MonarchPortraitReignRoyal HousePrime MinisterGovernor GeneralReign startReign end1 King George VI60px  1947  1950 Windsor NehruMountbattenRajagopalachari

Governor-General
The Governor-General was the representative of the Monarch in India and exercised most of the powers of the Monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the Monarch. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of India without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.

№Governor-GeneralPortraitTenureMonarchPrime MinisterTook officeLeft office 1 The Rt. Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma 60px  1947  1948George VINehru 2 Chakravarti Rajagopalachari 60px  1948  1950

Led a coup that overthrew President and Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and his government. After the coup, Javed Khan declared himself President and Prime Minister.

राष्ट्रपति और प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र दामोदरदास मोदी और उनकी सरकार को उखाड़ फेंकने वाले तख्तापलट का नेतृत्व किया। तख्तापलट के बाद, जावेद खान ने खुद को राष्ट्रपति और प्रधानमंत्री घोषित कर दिया।
List of presidents of India

Company rule in India

British Raj

 Provisional Government to Indian independence 

 #Name PortraitTerm of officePolitical partyVice President1Mahendra Pratap19151919Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah2Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah19191919Mahendra Pratap

British Raj

Governor-General

President of the Executive Council

 #Name PortraitTerm of officePolitical party 1 Jawaharlal Nehru 1928 1941 Indian National Congress

Subhas Chandra Bose Provisional Government to Indian independence 

 #Name PortraitTerm of officePolitical partyVice presidenProvisional Government of India1Subhas Chandra Bose19411945India Mohan Singh and Iwaichi Fujiwara founders of the First Indian National Army

President of the Executive Council
 #Name PortraitTerm of officePolitical party 1 Jawaharlal Nehru
Vice-President of the Executive Council
External Affairs & Commonwealth Relations 1945 15 August1947 Indian National Congress

Governor-General

#Governor-GeneralPortraitTenureMonarchPrime MinisterTook officeLeft office 1 The Rt. Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma 60px  1947  1948George VINehru 2 Chakravarti Rajagopalachari 60px  1948  1950
President of India (1950–present)

Key
-Died in office5px|alt=Did not complete assigned term-Resigned

 #Name PortraitTerm of officeElectedPolitical party  1 Rajendra Prasad 60px  1950  1962195019521955 1957 Indian National Congress 2 Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 60px  1962  1967 1962 1965 Independent 3 Zakir Husain 60px  1967  1969 1967 Independent 4 V. V. Giri 60px  1969  1969 1969 Independent 5Mohammad Hidayatullah 60px 1969 19691969Independent (4) V. V. Giri 60px  1969  1973 1969 Independent–Gopal Swarup Pathak(1896–1982) 1973 1973–Independent(4)V. V. Giri60px 1973 1974–Independent  6 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 60px  1974  1977 1974 Indian National Congress  7B. D. Jatti 60px 1977 1977—Indian National Congress  8Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 60px  1977  1982 1977 Janata Party 9Giani Zail Singh60px 1982 19831982Indian National Congress  (5)Mohammad Hidayatullah60px 1983 1983—Indian National Congress  (9)Giani Zail Singh60px 1983 1984—Indian National Congress  (5)Mohammad Hidayatullah60px 1984 1984—Indian National Congress  (9)Giani Zail Singh60px 1984 19871984Indian National Congress  10 R. Venkataraman 60px  1987  1992 1987 Indian National Congress  11Shankar Dayal Sharma 60px  1992  1997 1992 Indian National Congress  12 K. R. Narayanan 60px  1997  2000 1997 Indian National Congress –Krishan Kant
(1927–2002) 2000 2000–Indian National Congress (12)K. R. Narayanan60px 2000 2002–Indian National Congress 13 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 60px  2002  2003 2002Independent–Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
(1923–2010) 2003 2003–Independent(13)A. P. J. Abdul Kalam60px 2003 2007–Independent  14 Pratibha Patil 60px  2007  2010 2007 Indian National Congress –Mohammad Hamid Ansari(1937–)25 July 201025 July 2010–Indian National Congress (14)Pratibha Patil60px25 July 201025 July 2012–Indian National Congress  15Pranab Mukherjee 60px 25 July 2012 25 July 2016 2012Indian National Congress –Mohammad Hamid Ansari(1937–)25 July 201625 July 2016–Indian National Congress (15)Pranab Mukherjee 60px25 July 201625 July 2017–Indian National Congress  16 Ram Nath Kovind 60px 25 July 2017 25 July 2018 2017 Bharatiya Janata Party  _M. Venkaiah Naidu

(1949–)25 July 201825 July 2018–Bharatiya Janata Party  (16)Ram Nath Kovind60px25 July 201825 July 2022–Bharatiya Janata Party 17 Droupadi Murmu60px25 July 202211 August 20222022 Bharatiya Janata Party –Jagdeep Dhankhar
(1951–)11 August 202211 August 2022–Bharatiya Janata Party 17 Droupadi Murmu60px11 August 202212 September 2025–Bharatiya Janata Party —C. P. Radhakrishnan(1957-)12 September 202512 September 2025Bharatiya Janata Party 17Droupadi Murmu
(1958–)79x79px12 September 2025IncumbentBharatiya Janata Party 18 Narendra Modi(1950–)25 July 2025Incumbent—Bharatiya Janata PartyArmed forces who staged a military coup against the government and seized power.19Javed Khans (1996–)25 July 2025IncumbentMilitary 20Smriti Irani
(1976)25 July 2027IncumbentBharatiya Janata Party

Standards

Living former heads of state
There are two living former Indian heads of state:
 Image Name Term/reign Office Date of birth 60px Pratibha Patil 2007–2012 President of India  60px Pranab Mukherjee 2012–2017 President of India 

Category:Lists of heads of state
Category:Politics of India