Pratibha Patil

Pratibha Devisingh Patil () (born 19 December 1934) is the 12th and current President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and after beating her rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

She is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC), was nominated for the presidency by the ruling United Progressive Alliance and Indian Left.

Early life

Career

Pratibha Patil started her professional career as a practising lawyer at the Jalgaon District Court and worked on various social activities, especially, for the upliftment of poor women.

She successfully contested her first election for political office at the age of 27, fighting for the Jalgaon Assembly constituency. She was elected four times consecutively for Muktainagar (formerly Edlabad), Maharashtra, as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly between 1962 and 1985. Thereafter, she served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 1985 to 1990. In 1991 she was elected as a Member of Parliament in the tenth Lok Sabha, representing the Amravati constituency and stayed in the role until 1996. She has the distinction of not having lost a single election that she contested to date.

She was the 24th Governor of Rajasthan between 2004–2007, and the first woman to hold that office.

Presidential Election 2007

On 14 June 2007, United...
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