This is a list of the heads of state of India, from 1876 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 and its leading party the Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest party in the parliament and the party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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.

Emperor of India (1876–1947)

In 1876, Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom, was granted the title of Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act, 1876.[3] On January 1, 1877, Victoria was crowned Empress of India in the Delhi Durbar in a ceremony attended by various Indian Governors, Princes, Generals and other high officials and the Indian Governor-General, Lord Lytton. Successive British monarchs, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI also held the title, and George VI, who was the last Emperor of India, succeeded as the King of India in 15 August 1947.

Portrait Name Birth Reign Death Consort Imperial Durbar Royal House
Victoria 24 May 1819 1 May 1876 – 22 January 1901 22 January 1901 None[lower-alpha 1] 1 January 1877
(represented by Lord Lytton)		 Hanover
Edward VII 9 November 1841 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910 6 May 1910

Alexandra of Denmark

 1 January 1903
(represented by Lord Curzon)		 Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
George V 3 June 1865 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936 20 January 1936

Mary of Teck

 12 December 1911 Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(1910–1917)
Windsor
(1917–1936)
Edward VIII 23 June 1894 20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936 28 May 1972 None None[lower-alpha 2] Windsor
George VI 14 December 1895 11 December 1936 – 15 August 1947 6 February 1952

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

 None[lower-alpha 3] Windsor

Governor-General

Portrait Name Tenure Secretary of State for India Prime Minister
The Lord Lytton
(1831–1891)		 12 April
1876		 8 June
1880		 The Marquess of Salisbury

The Viscount Cranbrook

Marquess of Hartington

 Benjamin Disraeli

William Ewart Gladstone

The Marquess of Ripon
(1827–1909)		 8 June
1880		 13 December
1884		 Marquess of Hartington

The Earl of Kimberley

 William Ewart Gladstone
The Earl of Dufferin
(1826–1902)		 13 December
1884		 10 December
1888		 The Earl of Kimberley

Lord Randolph Churchill

The Earl of Kimberley

The Viscount Cross

 William Ewart Gladstone

The Marquess of Salisbury

William Ewart Gladstone

The Marquess of Salisbury

The Marquess of Lansdowne
(1845–1927)		 10 December
1888		 21 January
1894		 The Viscount Cross

The Earl of Kimberley

Henry Fowler

 The Marquess of Salisbury

William Ewart Gladstone

The Earl of Rosebery

The Earl of Elgin (1849–1917) 21 January
1894[5]		 6 January
1899		 Henry Fowler

Lord George Hamilton

 The Earl of Rosebery

The Marquess of Salisbury

The Lord Curzon of Kedleston[lower-alpha 4]
(1859–1925)		 6 January
1899		 18 November
1905
Appointed by Edward VII (1901–1910)
The Earl of Minto
(1845–1914)		 18 November
1905		 23 November
1910		 William St John Brodrick

John Morley

The Earl of Crewe

 Arthur Balfour

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman

H. H. Asquith

Appointed by George V (1910–1936)
The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst
(1858–1944)		 23 November
1910		 4 April
1916		 The Earl of Crewe

The Viscount Morley of Blackburn

The Marquess of Crewe

Austen Chamberlain

 H. H. Asquith
The Lord Chelmsford
(1868–1933)		 4 April
1916		 2 April
1921		 Austen Chamberlain

Edwin Montagu

 H. H. Asquith

David Lloyd George

The Earl of Reading
(1860–1935)		 2 April
1921		 3 April
1926		 Edwin Montagu

The Viscount Peel

The Lord Olivier

The Earl of Birkenhead

 David Lloyd George

Bonar Law

Stanley Baldwin

Ramsay MacDonald

Stanley Baldwin

The Lord Irwin
(1881–1959)		 3 April
1926		 1 July
1929		 The Earl of Birkenhead

The Viscount Peel

 Stanley Baldwin

Ramsay MacDonald

The Viscount Goschen
(acting)
(1866–1952)		 1 July
1929		 18 April 1931
The Earl of Willingdon
(1866–1941)		 18 April
1931		 18 April
1936		 William Wedgwood Benn

Sir Samuel Hoare

The Marquess of Zetland

 Ramsay MacDonald

Stanley Baldwin

Appointed by Edward VIII (1936)
The Marquess of Linlithgow
(1887–1952)		 18 April
1936		 1 October
1943		 The Marquess of Zetland

Leo Amery

 Stanley Baldwin

Neville Chamberlain

Winston Churchill

Appointed by George VI (1936-1947) (As Emperor of India)
The Viscount Wavell
(1883–1950)		 1 October
1943		 21 February
1947		 Leo Amery

The Lord Pethick-Lawrence

 Winston Churchill

Clement Attlee

The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma
(1900–1979)		 21 February
1947		 15 August
1947		 The Lord Pethick-Lawrence

The Earl of Listowel

 Clement Attlee

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
Details
StyleHis Majesty
First monarchGeorge VI as successor of the Emperor of India
Last monarchGeorge VI
Formation15 August 1947
Abolition26 January 1950
AppointerHereditary
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. 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.

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 [6] 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

Living former heads of state

Image Name Term/reign Office Date of birth
Pratibha Patil 2007–2012 President of India 19 December 1934
Ram Nath Kovind 2017–2022 President of India 1 October 1945

Notes

  1. ↑ Victoria's husband Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861.
  2. ↑ Edward VIII abdicated after less than one year of reign.
  3. ↑ A durbar was deemed expensive and impractical due to poverty and demands for independence.[4]
  4. ↑ The Lord Ampthill was acting Governor-General in 1904

References

  1. ↑ The Contemporary Commonwealth: An Assessment 1965-2009, Taylor & Francis, 2009, p. 22, ISBN 9781135238308, 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. ↑ "No. 38330". The London Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 3647. Royal Proclamation of 22 June 1948, made in accordance with the Indian Independence Act 1947, 10 & 11 GEO. 6. CH. 30.('Section 7: ...(2)The assent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is hereby given to the omission from the Royal Style and Titles of the words " Indiae Imperator " and the words " Emperor of India " and to the issue by His Majesty for that purpose of His Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Realm.'). According to this Royal Proclamation, the King retained the style and titles 'George VI by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith'
  4. ↑ Vickers, Hugo (2006), Elizabeth: The Queen Mother, Arrow Books/Random House, p. 175, ISBN 978-0-09-947662-7
  5. ↑ "Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London by PIAREA LAL MALHOTRA" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Was Chief Justice of India
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.