List of heads of state of India

For historical heads of state in the Indian Subcontinent, see List of Indian monarchs.

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This is a list of the heads of state of India, from independence in 1947 to the present day. The current head of state of India is Droupadi Murmu, elected in 2022 after being nominated by the National Democratic Alliance.

From 1947 to 1950, the head of state under the Indian Independence Act 1947 was King of India,[1][2] 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 of India (1947–1950)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

King of India
Emblem of the Union of India
George VI
Details
StyleHis Majesty
Formation15 August 1947
Abolition26 January 1950
No. Portrait Monarch
(Birth–Death) 		Reign Royal House Prime Minister Governor General
Reign start Reign end
1 George VI
(1895–1952) 		15 August 1947 26 January 1950 Windsor Nehru Mountbatten
(1947–1948)
Rajagopalachari
(1948–1950)

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. Following independence in 1947, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of India without the involvement of the British government.

No. Portrait Governor-General
(Birth–Death) 		Tenure Prime Minister
Took office Left office
Appointed by George VI (1947–1950) (As King of India)
1 The Rt. Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma
(1900–1979) 		15 August 1947 21 June 1948 Jawaharlal Nehru
2 Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
(1878–1972) 		21 June 1948 26 January 1950

President of India (1950–present)

Under the Constitution, of the Republic of India, the president replaced the monarch as ceremonial head of state. The president is elected by the Electoral College for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the vice president serves as acting president.

Status
  Denotes Vice-President acting as President
No. Portrait President
(Birth–Death) 		Elected Tenure Political affiliation
(at time of appointment) 		Prime Minister
Took office Left office
1 Rajendra Prasad
(1884–1963) 		1952
1957 		26 January 1950 13 May 1962 Indian National Congress Nehru
2 Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975) 		1962 13 May 1962 13 May 1967 Independent Nehru
Nanda
Shastri
Nanda
I. Gandhi
3 Zakir Husain
(1897–1969) 		1967 13 May 1967 3 May 1969
(died in office.) 		Independent I. Gandhi
– V. V. Giri
(1894–1980) 		– 3 May 1969 20 July 1969 Independent I. Gandhi
– Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1905–1992) 		– 20 July 1969 24 August 1969 [3] I. Gandhi
4 V. V. Giri
(1894–1980) 		1969 24 August 1969 24 August 1974 Independent I. Gandhi
5 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
(1905–1977) 		1974 24 August 1974 11 February 1977
(died in office.) 		Indian National Congress I. Gandhi
– Basappa Danappa Jatti
(1912–2002) 		– 11 February 1977 25 July 1977 Indian National Congress I. Gandhi
Desai
6 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996) 		1977 25 July 1977 25 July 1982 Janata Party Desai
C. Singh
I. Gandhi
7 Giani Zail Singh
(1916–1994) 		1982 25 July 1982 25 July 1987 Indian National Congress I. Gandhi
R. Gandhi
8 R. Venkataraman
(1910–2009) 		1987 25 July 1987 25 July 1992 Indian National Congress R. Gandhi
V. P. Singh
Shekhar
Rao
9 Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999) 		1992 25 July 1992 25 July 1997 Indian National Congress Rao
Vajpayee
Deve Gowda
Gujral
10 K. R. Narayanan
(1920–2005) 		1997 25 July 1997 25 July 2002 Indian National Congress Gujral
Vajpayee
11 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(1931–2015) 		2002 25 July 2002 25 July 2007 Independent Vajpayee
M. Singh
12 Pratibha Patil
(born 1934) 		2007 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 Indian National Congress M. Singh
13 Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020) 		2012 25 July 2012 25 July 2017 Indian National Congress M. Singh
Modi
14 Ram Nath Kovind
(born 1945) 		2017 25 July 2017 25 July 2022 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi
15 Droupadi Murmu
(born 1958) 		2022 25 July 2022 Incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party Modi

Standards

  • Governor-General's Standard (1947–1950)
    Governor-General's Standard (1947–1950)
  • Presidential Standard (1950–1971)
    Presidential Standard (1950–1971)

Notes

References

  1. ^ Mayall, James, ed. (2009). The Contemporary Commonwealth: An Assessment 1965-2009. London and New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-135-23830-8. On independence in 1947, George VI became 'King of India' until the adoption of republican status in 1950.
  2. ^ Jawaharlal Nehru (1991), Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru: 21 June to 15 August 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, p. 363, King George was in effect King of India and it was as such that he functioned as the Head of the Indian State. He did not function in India as the King of England.
  3. ^ Was Chief Justice of India
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