History · Polity

Presidents of India

Every President since 26 January 1950. Acting Presidents are shown with a dash.

Exam facts

• Current PresidentDroupadi Murmu (since 25 Jul 2022)
• Longest tenureDr Rajendra Prasad: 12 yrs 3 months 17 days
• Shortest tenure (not counting acting)Dr Zakir Husain: 1 yr 11 months 20 days
• First woman PresidentPratibha Patil
• Elected twiceDr Rajendra Prasad (only one)
• Elected byElected MPs and MLAs (Article 54)
• Term5 years (Article 56)
• RemovalImpeachment (Article 61)
• Minimum age35 years
• Oath given byChief Justice of India

Full list with tenure

Tenure is shown in years, months and days. For the person in office now, it is counted up to 7 November 2026.

1. 1
   Dr Rajendra Prasad26 Jan 1950 – 13 May 196212 yrs 3 months 17 daysOnly President elected twice; longest-serving
2. 2
   Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan13 May 1962 – 13 May 19675 yrsHis birthday, 5 September, is Teachers' Day
3. 3
   Dr Zakir Husain13 May 1967 – 3 May 19691 yr 11 months 20 daysFirst President to die in office
4. –
   V. V. Giri (acting)3 May 1969 – 20 Jul 19692 months 17 days
5. –
   Justice M. Hidayatullah (acting)20 Jul 1969 – 24 Aug 19691 month 4 daysChief Justice who acted as President
6. 4
   V. V. Giri24 Aug 1969 – 24 Aug 19745 yrs
7. 5
   Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed24 Aug 1974 – 11 Feb 19772 yrs 5 months 18 daysDied in office; signed the 1975 Emergency proclamation
8. –
   B. D. Jatti (acting)11 Feb 1977 – 25 Jul 19775 months 14 days
9. 6
   N. Sanjiva Reddy25 Jul 1977 – 25 Jul 19825 yrsElected unopposed
10. 7
    Giani Zail Singh25 Jul 1982 – 25 Jul 19875 yrs
11. 8
    R. Venkataraman25 Jul 1987 – 25 Jul 19925 yrs
12. 9
    Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma25 Jul 1992 – 25 Jul 19975 yrs
13. 10
    K. R. Narayanan25 Jul 1997 – 25 Jul 20025 yrsFirst Dalit President
14. 11
    Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam25 Jul 2002 – 25 Jul 20075 yrs'Missile Man of India'
15. 12
    Pratibha Patil25 Jul 2007 – 25 Jul 20125 yrsFirst woman President
16. 13
    Pranab Mukherjee25 Jul 2012 – 25 Jul 20175 yrsBharat Ratna 2019
17. 14
    Ram Nath Kovind25 Jul 2017 – 25 Jul 20225 yrs
18. 15
    Droupadi Murmu25 Jul 2022 – present4 yrs 3 months 13 days so farFirst tribal President; second woman President