List of presidents of India by longevity
| President | Date of birth | President |
|---|---|---|
| Pratibha Patil | 19 December 1934 | 2007–2012 |
| Ram Nath Kovind | 1 October 1945 | 2017–2022 |
| Droupadi Murmu | 20 June 1958 | 2022–present |
This is a list of presidents of India by longevity. This table can be sorted to display the presidents by name, order of office, date of birth, age at inauguration, length of retirement, or lifespan.
Two measures of longevity are given; this is to allow for the differing number of leap days occurring within the life of each president. The first figure is the number of days between date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; in parentheses the same period given in years and days, with the years being the number of whole years the president lived, and the days being the remaining number of days after his last birthday. Where the president in question is still living, the longevity is calculated up to 5 November 2024.
Overview[edit]
All presidents of independent India so far have been aged over 60 when they assumed office. The median age of accession is roughly 71 years and 60 days, which falls between Prathiba Patil and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The youngest president to assume office was Droupadi Murmu, who was inaugurated at the age of 64 years, 35 days. The oldest president to assume office was K. R. Narayanan, who was inaugurated at the age of 76 years and 271 days.
The oldest living is former president Pratibha Patil, born 19 December 1934 (89 years, 322 days). The youngest living president is the incumbent Droupadi Murmu, born 20 June 1958 (66 years, 138 days).
The longest-lived president was Ramaswamy Venkataraman, who died at the age of 98 years, 54 days. The oldest living president Pratibha Patil will tie Venkataraman if she's still alive on 11 February 2033. The shortest-lived president was Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who died at the age of 71 years, 274 days.
Ramaswamy Venkataraman also had the longest retirement of 16 years and 186 days, and Rajendra Prasad had the shortest retirement of 291 days.[1] With the exception of Droupadi Murmu, all the other presidents of India were born before independence.
Presidents of India[edit]
Living
Currently in Office
| President |
Date of birth |
Date of inauguration |
Age at inauguration |
End of term | Age at end date |
Length of retirement |
Date of death |
Lifespan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajendra Prasad | 3 December 1884 | 26 January 1950 | 65 years, 54 days | 13 May 1962 | 77 years, 161 days | 291 days | 28 February 1963 | 28,575 days (78 years, 87 days) |
| 2 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 5 September 1888 | 13 May 1962 | 73 years, 250 days | 13 May 1967 | 78 years, 250 days | 7 years, 339 days | 17 April 1975 | 31,634 days (86 years, 224 days) |
| 3 | Zakir Husain | 8 February 1897 | 13 May 1967 | 70 years, 94 days | 3 May 1969[2] | 72 years, 84 days | N/A | 3 May 1969 | 26,381 days (72 years, 84 days) |
| 4 | V. V. Giri | 10 August 1894 | 24 August 1969 | 75 years, 14 days | 24 August 1974 | 80 years, 14 days | 5 years, 304 days | 23 June 1980 | 31,363 days (85 years, 318 days) |
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 13 May 1905 | 24 August 1974 | 69 years, 103 days | 11 February 1977[2] | 71 years, 274 days | N/A | 11 February 1977 | 26,207 days (71 years, 274 days) |
| 6 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 19 May 1913 | 25 July 1977 | 64 years, 67 days | 25 July 1982 | 69 years, 67 days | 13 years, 312 days | 1 June 1996 | 30,329 days (83 years, 13 days) |
| 7 | Zail Singh | 5 May 1916 | 25 July 1982 | 66 years, 81 days | 25 July 1987 | 71 years, 81 days | 7 years, 153 days | 25 December 1994 | 28,723 days (78 years, 234 days) |
| 8 | Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 4 December 1910 | 25 July 1987 | 76 years, 233 days | 25 July 1992 | 81 years, 234 days | 16 years, 186 days | 27 January 2009 | 35,849 days (98 years, 54 days) |
| 9 | Shankar Dayal Sharma | 19 August 1918 | 25 July 1992 | 73 years, 341 days | 25 July 1997 | 78 years, 340 days | 2 years, 154 days | 26 December 1999 | 29,714 days (81 years, 129 days) |
| 10 | K. R. Narayanan | 27 October 1920 | 25 July 1997 | 76 years, 271 days | 25 July 2002 | 81 years, 271 days | 3 years, 107 days | 9 November 2005 | 31,059 days (85 years, 13 days) |
| 11 | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 15 October 1931 | 25 July 2002 | 70 years, 283 days | 25 July 2007 | 75 years, 283 days | 8 years, 2 days | 27 July 2015 | 30,601 days (83 years, 285 days) |
| 12 | Pratibha Patil | 19 December 1934 | 25 July 2007 | 72 years, 218 days | 25 July 2012 | 77 years, 219 days | 12 years, 103 days | living | 32,829 days (89 years, 322 days) |
| 13 | Pranab Mukherjee | 11 December 1935 | 25 July 2012 | 76 years, 227 days | 25 July 2017 | 81 years, 226 days | 3 years, 37 days | 31 August 2020 | 30,945 days (84 years, 264 days) |
| 14 | Ram Nath Kovind | 1 October 1945 | 25 July 2017 | 71 years, 297 days | 25 July 2022 | 76 years, 297 days | Incumbent | living | 28,890 days (79 years, 35 days) |
| 15 | Droupadi Murmu | 20 June 1958 | 25 July 2022 | 64 years, 35 days | Incumbent | Incumbent | Incumbent | living | 24,245 days (66 years, 138 days) |
| # | President | Date of birth | Date of inauguration |
Age at inauguration |
End of term | Age at end date |
Length of retirement |
Date of death | Lifespan |
Timeline of living presidents[edit]
This is a chronological list of all who served as the President of India and were still living, at different periods in history. There have been 5 time periods when there was only one living president, first with the inauguration of Rajendra Prasad in 1950 and most recently during the administration of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy following the death of V. V Giri in 1980.
There has been one time period when 4 living current or former presidents co-existed. This period was from the July 1992 inauguration of Shankar Dayal Sharma to the December 1994 death of Zail Singh. If one includes future presidents as well as past and current presidents, there has been only one time period when all 15 different presidents co-existed. (see Statistics)
| Start date | End date | Start event | Duration | End event | Living presidents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 January 1950 | 13 May 1962 | Inauguration of Rajendra Prasad | 12 years, 107 days | Inauguration of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 1 | Prasad |
| 13 May 1962 | 28 February 1963 | Inauguration of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 291 days | Death of Rajendra Prasad | 2 | Prasad Radhakrishnan |
| 28 February 1963 | 13 May 1967 | Death of Rajendra Prasad | 4 years, 74 days | Inauguration of Zakir Husain | 1 | Radhakrishnan |
| 13 May 1967 | 3 May 1969 | Inauguration of Zakir Husain | 1 year, 355 days | Death of Zakir Husain | 2 | Radhakrishnan Husain |
| 3 May 1969 | 24 August 1969 | Death of Zakir Husain | 113 days | Inauguration of V. V. Giri | 1 | Radhakrishnan |
| 24 August 1969 | 24 August 1974 | Inauguration of V. V. Giri | 5 years, 0 days | Inauguration of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 2 | Radhakrishnan Giri |
| 24 August 1974 | 17 April 1975 | Inauguration of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 236 days | Death of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 3 | Radhakrishnan Giri Ahmed |
| 17 April 1975 | 11 February 1977 | Death of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 1 year, 300 days | Death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 2 | Giri Ahmed |
| 11 February 1977 | 25 July 1977 | Death of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 164 days | Inauguration of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 1 | Giri |
| 25 July 1977 | 23 June 1980 | Inauguration of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 2 years, 334 days | Death of V. V. Giri | 2 | Giri Reddy |
| 23 June 1980 | 25 July 1982 | Death of V. V. Giri | 2 years, 32 days | Inauguration of Zail Singh | 1 | Reddy |
| 25 July 1982 | 25 July 1987 | Inauguration of Zail Singh | 5 years, 0 days | Inauguration of Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 2 | Reddy Singh |
| 25 July 1987 | 25 July 1992 | Inauguration of Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 5 years, 0 days | Inauguration of Shankar Dayal Sharma | 3 | Reddy Singh Venkataraman |
| 25 July 1992 | 25 December 1994 | Inauguration of Shankar Dayal Sharma | 2 years, 153 days | Death of Zail Singh | 4 | Reddy Singh Venkataraman Sharma |
| 25 December 1994 | 1 June 1996 | Death of Zail Singh | 1 year, 159 days | Death of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 3 | Reddy Venkataraman Sharma |
| 1 June 1996 | 25 July 1997 | Death of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 1 year, 54 days | Inauguration of K. R. Narayanan | 2 | Venkataraman Sharma |
| 25 July 1997 | 26 December 1999 | Inauguration of K. R. Narayanan | 2 years, 154 days | Death of Shankar Dayal Sharma | 3 | Venkataraman Sharma Narayanan |
| 26 December 1999 | 25 July 2002 | Death of Shankar Dayal Sharma | 2 years, 211 days | Inauguration of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 2 | Venkataraman Narayanan |
| 25 July 2002 | 9 November 2005 | Inauguration of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 3 years, 107 days | Death of K. R. Narayanan | 3 | Venkataraman Narayanan Kalam |
| 9 November 2005 | 25 July 2007 | Death of K. R. Narayanan | 1 year, 258 days | Inauguration of Pratibha Patil | 2 | Venkataraman Kalam |
| 25 July 2007 | 27 January 2009 | Inauguration of Pratibha Patil | 1 year, 186 days | Death of Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 3 | Venkataraman Kalam Patil |
| 27 January 2009 | 25 July 2012 | Death of Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 3 years, 180 days | Inauguration of Pranab Mukherjee | 2 | Kalam Patil |
| 25 July 2012 | 27 July 2015 | Inauguration of Pranab Mukherjee | 3 years, 0 days | Death of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 3 | Kalam Patil Mukherjee |
| 27 July 2015 | 25 July 2017 | Death of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 5 years, 0 days | Inauguration of Ram Nath Kovind | 2 | Patil Mukherjee |
| 25 July 2017 | 31 August 2020 | Inauguration of Ram Nath Kovind | 3 years, 37 days | Death of Pranab Mukherjee | 3 | Patil Mukherjee Kovind |
| 31 August 2020 | 25 July 2022 | Death of Pranab Mukherjee | 1 year, 328 days | Inauguration of Droupadi Murmu | 2 | Patil Kovind |
| 25 July 2022 | present | Inauguration of Droupadi Murmu | 2 years, 103 days | present | 3 | Patil Kovind Murmu |
Statistics[edit]
- There have been four men who have been the only living president: Rajendra Prasad (as the first, from 26 January 1950 to 13 May 1962), Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (from Prasad's death on 28 February 1963 to 13 May 1967, and once again from 3 May 1969 to 24 August 1969 during a vacancy in the office following the death of Zakir Husain), V. V. Giri (from Ahmed's death on 11 February 1977 to 25 July 1977), and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (from Giri's death on 23 June 1980 to 25 July 1982).
- During one period in the History of India, has there been 4 persons alive to have been president. This period was from 25 July 1992 to 25 December 1994 (when Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Zail Singh, Ramaswamy Venkataraman, and Shankar Dayal Sharma were alive.
- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was the only person to be both an only living president (from 23 June 1980 to 25 July 1982) and one of the 4 living presidents (from 25 July 1992 to 25 December 1994).
- There have been 4 administrations during which a president has not died, the most recent being the administration of Ramaswamy Venkataraman. This does not include the administration of Zakir Husain (who was himself the only president to die during his administration), nor that of the incumbent Droupadi Murmu, as no president has died since Pranab Mukherjee who died during Ram Nath Kovind's administration.
- Conversely, only during the administration of Shankar Dayal Sharma has there been as many as two deaths during an administration. This does not include the administration of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed whose own death was the second during his administration.
- Because he was the first president in addition to being the longest serving president, Rajendra Prasad holds the distinction of serving for the longest period without the death of a president during his term (12 years and 107 days).
- The longest period between deaths of presidents was the 14 years and 185 days between the deaths of V. V. Giri on 23 June 1980 and Zail Singh on 25 December 1994. The shortest was the 1 year and 159 days between the deaths of Zail Singh on 25 December 1994 and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy on 1 June 1996.
- If the longest period between deaths is to be exceeded, no president must die before 4 March 2035 (the current oldest and second oldest surviving presidents, Pratibha Patil and Ram Nath Kovind, would then be 100 and 89 years old respectively).
- The second longest period is the 6 years and 180 days between the deaths of Ramaswamy Venkataraman on 27 January 2009 and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 27 July 2015.
- Following his administrations' end in 1992, Ramaswamy Venkataraman lived to see a record 4 administrations prior to his death in January 2009. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy follow with 3 administrations after their own administrations ended in 1967 and 1982 respectively, prior to their deaths in April 1975 and June 1996 respectively. Pratibha Patil, who is still alive, has also seen 3 administrations since she left office in 2012.
- If one includes future as well as past and current presidents, the record sits at 15:
- Between Droupadi Murmu's birth on 20 June 1958 and Rajendra Prasad's death on 28 February 1963, the following presidents were alive: Rajendra Prasad, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Zakir Husain, V. V. Giri, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Zail Singh, Ramaswamy Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma, K. R. Narayanan, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Pratibha Patil, Pranab Mukherjee, Ram Nath Kovind, and Droupadi Murmu.
- Since the inauguration of Zail Singh on 25 July 1982 (a period of 42 years, 103 days), there have been at least two presidents living.
Oldest living presidents of India[edit]
Not all presidents live to become the oldest of their time. Of the 12 deceased presidents, 6 eventually became the oldest of their time, while 6 did not. Ramaswamy Venkataraman became the oldest living president when he was inaugurated in 1987 and remained so until his death in 2009, for a record 21 years and 186 days. V. V. Giri became the oldest living president when Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan died in 1975, but he held this distinction for only 5 years and 67 days.
On one occasion the oldest living president lost this distinction not by his death, but due to the inauguration of a president who was older. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy lost this distinction when Ramaswamy Venkataraman was inaugurated. V. V. Giri was the oldest to acquire this distinction at the age of 80 years, and 250 days. K. R. Narayanan, who was 85 years and 13 days when he died was the oldest president to die without ever acquiring this distinction. Pranab Mukherjee, who was 84 years, and 264 days old when he died on 31 August 2020 is most recent president to die without ever acquiring this distinction.
| President | Period when oldest living president | Age | Duration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start date | End date | at start | at end | ||
| Rajendra Prasad | 26 January 1950 | 28 February 1963 | 65 years, 54 days | 78 years, 87 days | 13 years, 33 days |
| Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 28 February 1963 | 17 April 1975 | 74 years, 176 days | 86 years, 224 days | 12 years, 48 days |
| V. V. Giri | 17 April 1975 | 23 June 1980 | 80 years, 250 days | 85 years, 318 days | 5 years, 67 days |
| Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 23 June 1980 | 25 July 1987 | 67 years, 35 days | 74 years, 67 days | 7 years, 32 days |
| Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 25 July 1987 | 27 January 2009 | 76 years, 233 days | 98 years, 54 days | 21 years, 186 days |
| A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 27 January 2009 | 27 July 2015 | 77 years, 104 days | 83 years, 285 days | 6 years, 181 days |
| Pratibha Patil | 27 July 2015 | – | 80 years, 220 days | – | 9 years, 101 days |
| President | Start date | End date | Age at start | Age at end | Duration |
See also[edit]
- List of vice presidents of India by longevity
- List of prime ministers of India by longevity
- Living prime ministers of India
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ President Zakir Husain and Fakruddin Ali Ahmed are exempted as they died while president, i.e. had no retirement. Acting Presidents Mohammad Hidayatullah and B. D. Jatti are also exempted.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Died in office on this date.
Citations[edit]
External links[edit]
| Presidents |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Acting | ||
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