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A lawyer, veteran political representative and an ardent, long-time champion of equitability in society and integrity in Indian public life, Shri Ram Nath Kovind was born on October 1, 1945, in Village Paraunkh, District Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh. Before assuming office of the 14th President of India on July 25, 2017, Shri Kovind served as the 36th Governor of the state of Bihar from August 16, 2015 to June 20, 2017.
Educational and Professional Background
Shri Kovind completed his school education in Kanpur and pursued higher education in Kanpur University for receiving the degrees of B.Com and LL.B. He enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1971.Shri Kovind was Counsel of Union Government in the Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979. He became an Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India in 1978. Thereafter, from 1980 to 1993, he was the Union Government’s Standing Counsel in Supreme Court. He practised at the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court for 16 years till 1993.
Parliamentary and Public Life
Shri Ram Nath Kovind was elected as and became a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) from Uttar Pradesh in April 1994. He served for two consecutive terms of six years each till March 2006. A keen Parliamentarian, Shri Kovind served on the Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs, Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, and Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice. He was also Chairman of Rajya Sabha House Committee
Shri Kovind also served as Member of the Board of Management of the Dr B.R Ambedkar University, Lucknow and as Member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. As a member of the Indian delegation, he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on 22nd October 2003.
Positions Held
- 1977-1979: Union Government Counsel at the Delhi High Court
- 1980-1993: Union Government Standing Counsel in the Supreme Court
- 1994-2006: Member of the Rajya Sabha, representing state of Uttar Pradesh
- 2015-2017: Governor of Bihar
Personal Details
Shri Ram Nath Kovind married Smt. Savita Kovind on May 30, 1974. They have a son and a daughter. An avid reader, the President has keen interest in books on politics and social change, law, history, and spiritualism.
During his long career, Shri Kovind has travelled widely across the country as well as overseas. As President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind has visited Djibouti, Ethiopia in 2017; Mauritius, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland), Zambia, Greece, Suriname, Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore and The Union of Myanmar in 2018.
As Governor of Bihar, he had travelled to the Laos People’s Democratic Republic in February 2017. He has also visited Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and the United States in his capacity as a Member of Parliament.
(Courtesy – presidentofindia.nic.in)
