Pranab Mukherjee : The 13th President of India

• Mr. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, 76, took over as the 13th President of India at a ceremony in Parliament on July 25, 2012.
• Replaced Ms. Pratibha Patil, the first woman President of India.
• Mr. Mukerjee was sworn in by Chief Justice of India S.H.Kapadia on July 25, 2012.
• The UPA nominee defeated the former Lok Sabha Speaker, P.A. Sangma, by 3,97,776 value votes.
• Mr. Mukherjeee secured 68.12% of the total 10,47,971 value votes cast by 4,659 memebers of the State/Territorial Assemblies and Parliament.
• Only the former President, K.R. Narayanan, secured the maximum value votes of 9,56,290 (94.97%); when he won in the 1997 election against the former Chief Election Commissioner, T.N.Seshan.
• Mr. Mukherjee is the first one from West Bengal to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential House) in Raisina hill.
• He is the third person to go directly to Rashtrapathi Bhavan from the Union Cabinet, after Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Giani Zail Singh. Most ohter former Presidents held the post of Vice-President before getting elected President.
• In his acceptance speech, Mukherjee touched upon social and global challenges facing the country and said India was in the midst of fourth worldwar against terrorism. The President called for foucused action on education, eradication of poverty and fight against corruption to take the country forward. He stressed on the need for a peaceful world, calling it the first ingredient of prosperity.
• A Statesman's Road to the Top Job:
• 11 December, 1935 : Born in Birbhum's Mira village to Kamdra Kinkar Mukherjee and Rajlakshmi Mukherjee.
• 1 July, 1957 : Married Surva Mukherjee
• 1969 : Becomes Rajya Sabha Member, re-elected to Rajya Sabha in 1975, 1981, 1993 and 1999.
• 1982 - 1984 : Finance Minister for the first time.
• Appoints Manmohan Singh as Reserve Bnak of India governor in 1982.
• Rated World's Best Finance Minister by Euromoney in 1984.
• 1980 - 1985 : Leader of Rajya Sabha
• 1986 : Floats RAshtriya Samajwadi congress
• 1989 : Merges party with congress. P V Narashima Rao makes him plan panel deputy chief.
• 1995 - 1996 : Forieign Minister in P V Narasahima Rao government.
• 2004 : Wins Polls in Jangipur
• 2004 - 2012 : Leader of Lok Sabha
• 2004- 2006 : Defence Minister
• 2009 : Re- elected from Jangipur
• 2006 - 2009 : Foreign Minister
• 2009 - 2012 Finance Minister
• Oversaw signing of Indo-US civil nuke deal.
• honoured with Padma Vibhusan in 2008
• Named Finnace Minister of the year for Asia in 2010
• Quits to join race to become President
• Between 1982 - 2012 presented 7 budgets. In first budget, returned IMF loan's last installment.