Ram Nath Kovind Biography

About Ram Nath Kovind

Ram Nath Kovind is the 14th and current President of India.He assumed office of the President of India on 25 July 2017. Kovind is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Ram Nath Kovind was the Governor of Bihar before being appointed the President of India. After Kocheril Raman Narayanan, Kovind is the second dalit to assume the post of the President of India. Kovind practiced at the Delhi High Court as well as the Supreme Court of India till 1993. In 1994 he became a Member of the Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Kovind was nominated by the ruling NDA for the post of the President and won comfortably.

Education

Kovind was born on 1 October 1945 in Paraunkh village in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat district to a humble family. Kovind, who lost his mother at the age of 5, was brought up by his father who owned a shop. Kovind was a bright student and after completing his schooling, got admission at DAV College (affiliated with Kanpur University) from where he received his bachelor's degree and LLB degree.

Career and personal life

Kovind initially wanted to become an IAS officer and took the Civil Services exam. He made it in his third attempt but decided against joining as he was selected for an allied service and not the IAS. Thereafter, Kovind embarked on a successful legal career. In 1971, he enrolled as an advocate with Delhi's bar council. Between the years 1977 and 1979, Kovind worked as a Central Government Advocate at the Delhi High Court and was Prime Minister Morarji Desai's personal assistant during 1977 and 1978. Between the years 1980 and 1993, he was the Central Government's standing council in the Supreme Court of India.

On 30 May 1974, Ram Nath Kovind married Savita. The couple has two children, a son – Prashant Kumar, and a daughter – Swati.

Politics

Ram Nath Kovind began his political career in 1994 when he was elected as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. He was an MP for two terms – 1994 to 2006. As an MP he has a number of achievements to his credit such as representing India in the UN in New York and addressing the United Nations General Assembly in 2002, serving as a member of a number of parliamentary committees, working as a member of the Board of Governors of IIM, Kolkata, among others. As an MP, he played a contributing role in the educational field by aiding in the construction of school buildings in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.

On 8 August 2015, Kovind was appointed as the Governor of Bihar by the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.

As President

Ram Nath Kovind was appointed the President of India on 25 July 2017. He received 65.65% of the valid votes, while the opposition candidate, Meira Kumar, received 34.35% of the total votes.

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