List of Presidents of India
| № | Name (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Elected | Took office | Left office | Vice President |
| 1 | Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963) |
1952 1957 |
26 January 1950 | 12 May 1962 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | |
| Prasad, from Bihar, was the first President of independent India, and also the longest-serving President, for 12 years He was also a freedom fighter during the Indian independence movement. Prasad was the only president to serve two terms in office. | ||||||
| 2 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) |
1962 | 13 May 1962 | 13 May 1967 | Zakir Husain | |
| Radhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer and also held the position of vice chancellor of the Andhra University andBanaras Hindu University. He was also made a Knight of the Golden Army of Angels by Pope Paul VI. He received Bharat Ratna award in 1954 before becoming the President. He was the first President from South India. | ||||||
| 3 | Zakir Husain (1897–1969) |
1967 | 13 May 1967 | 3 May 1969 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri | |
| Hussain 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 Hussain, Giri was appointed as Acting President of India. He resigned in 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 a recipient of the Order of the British Empire. He served as Acting President of India until the election of Giri as the President of India. | ||||||
| 4 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894–1980) |
1969 | 24 August 1969 | 24 August 1974 | Gopal Swarup Pathak | |
| Giri is the only person to have served as both an acting president and president of India. He was a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, and has functioned as Indian Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). | ||||||
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977) |
1974 | 24 August 1974 | 11 February 1977 | Basappa Danappa Jatti | |
| Fakhruddin Ali 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. | ||||||
| – | Basappa Danappa Jatti * (1912–2002) |
– | 11 February 1977 | 25 July 1977 | – | |
| Jatti was the vice president of India during Ahmed’s term of office, and was sworn in as Acting President of India upon Ahmed’s death. He earlier functioned as the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore. | ||||||
| 6 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996) |
1977 | 25 July 1977 | 25 July 1982 | Basappa Danappa Jatti
Muhammad Hidayatullah |
|
| N.S. Reddy was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State. 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 | Giani Zail Singh (1916–1994) |
1982 | 25 July 1982 | 25 July 1987 | Muhammad Hidayatullah
Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
|
| 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) |
1987 | 25 July 1987 | 25 July 1992 | Shankar Dayal Sharma | |
| 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) |
1992 | 25 July 1992 | 25 July 1997 | Kocheril Raman Narayanan | |
| Sharma was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and the Indian Minister for Communications. He has also served as the governor ofAndhra Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra | ||||||
| 10 | Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1920–2005) |
1997 | 25 July 1997 | 25 July 2002 | Krishan Kant | |
| 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 President from Kerala, and also the first Dalit President. | ||||||
| 11 | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) |
2002 | 25 July 2002 | 25 July 2007 | Krishan Kant
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat |
|
| Kalam was a scientist who played a leading role in the development of India’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. He also received the Bharat Ratna. Kalam was affectionately known as the People’s President, due to his extra-Presidential activities. He was the first bachelor president of India, and the first Muslim President who completed his term. Kalam died following a heart attack while delivering a speech in Shillong. | ||||||
| 12 | Pratibha Patil (1934–) |
2007 | 25 July 2007 | 25 July 2012 | Mohammad Hamid Ansari | |
| 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 | Incumbent | Mohammad Hamid Ansari | |
| Pranab 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. | ||||||