India’s thirteenth President had already held more major Cabinet portfolios than almost anyone in the country’s history before he ever moved into Rashtrapati Bhavan. This article covers Pranab Mukherjee’s life and presidency.
MCQquestion.comPolity0081 · Indian Polity and Constitution
Pranab Mukherjee
Nearly every top Cabinet post, then the Presidency, then a Bharat Ratna
1969
Enters the Rajya Sabha
First elected with Indira Gandhi’s backing, beginning a five-decade political career.
1982–2012
Holds nearly every top Cabinet post
Finance, External Affairs, and Defence Minister across multiple governments. Named world’s best finance minister in 1984.
25 Jul 2012
Becomes 13th President
Resigns from the Lok Sabha, the Finance Ministry, and Congress to take the non-partisan office.
2019
Awarded the Bharat Ratna
India’s highest civilian honour, presented by his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind.
The Convention
He spent decades deeply embedded in one party. To take the Presidency, he still resigned from all of it — a real example of the office’s required non-partisanship.
Must Know
- Pranab Mukherjee was India’s thirteenth President, serving from 25 July 2012 to 25 July 2017.
- Born on 11 December 1935 in Mirati, Bengal, he was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969, with Indira Gandhi’s backing.
- Over a five-decade career, he held several top Cabinet posts: Finance Minister (1982-1984 and 2009-2012), External Affairs Minister (1995-1996 and 2006-2009), and Defence Minister (2004-2006).
- To contest the presidency, he resigned from the Lok Sabha, the Finance Ministry, and the Congress party, since the office is meant to be non-partisan.
- He won the July 2012 election and was sworn in as President on 25 July 2012.
Good to Know
- He received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, in 2008, before becoming President.
- Euromoney magazine named him the world’s best finance minister in 1984, based on his first stint holding that portfolio.
- Observers noted he was more actively engaged in governance than most of his predecessors, drawing on his decades of administrative experience.
- He chose not to seek a second term, retiring from politics after 2017 due to age-related health concerns. He died on 31 August 2020.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 2019 — presented by his successor, President Ram Nath Kovind, and citing his decades of public service rather than his presidency specifically.
- His resignation from active party politics before taking office is a clear real-world example of the constitutional convention that the President must stand above party affiliation, even for a leader as deeply embedded in one party as he was.
- His path — nearly every major ministry, then the Presidency, then a Bharat Ratna afterward — gave him one of the most decorated records of any figure in independent India’s political history.
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