Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad
Official portrait, 1950
1st President of India
In office 13 February 1952 – 13 May 1962 Acting: 26 January 1950 – 13 February 1952
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Vice President	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
1st Union Minister of Agriculture
In office 15 August 1947 – 14 January 1948
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Jairamdas Daulatram
President of Constituent Assembly of India
In office 11 December 1946 – 24 January 1950
Vice President	Harendra Coomar Mookerjee V. T. Krishnamachari
Preceded by	Sachchidananda Sinha
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	(1884-12-03)3 December 1884 Ziradei, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Bihar, India)
Died	28 February 1963(1963-02-28) (aged 78) Patna, Bihar, India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse	Rajvanshi Devi ​ ​ (m. 1896; died 1962)​
Children	Mrityunjay Prasad (son)
Alma mater	University of Calcutta
Occupation	Politician lawyer journalist scholar
Awards	Bharat Ratna (1962)

Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1952 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement and became a major leader from the region of Bihar. A supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 and the Quit India movement of 1942. After the constituent assembly 1946 elections, Prasad served as 1st Minister of Food and Agriculture in the central government from 1947 to 1948. Upon independence in 1947, Prasad was elected as President of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India and which served as its provisional Parliament.

When India became a republic in 1950, Prasad was elected as its first president by the Constituent Assembly. As president, Prasad established a tradition for non-partisanship and independence for the office-bearer and retired from Congress party politics. Although a ceremonial head of state, Prasad encouraged the development of education in India and advised government on several occasions. In 1957, Prasad was re-elected to the presidency, becoming the only president to serve two full terms. Prasad stayed in office for the longest term of around 12 years. Post the completion of his tenure, he quit the Congress and set up new guidelines for parliamentarians which are still followed.