From working as a clerk in the office of the Deputy Account General in Kolkata to becoming the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee came a long way in life. Born on 11 December in Mirati, west Bengal, he became the 13th President of India on 15 June 2012and served the office till 2017.
His talent was first recognized by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and he was then recruited by her to the Congress Party. Looking back at his journey, let’s get to know some less known facts about him:
- He gained his bachelor’s Degree from Suri Vidyasagar College. He later went on pursue is M.A. in Political science and history and LLB from University of Calcutta.
- He is the only minister to handle four ministries, they are- Commerce, Defense, External Affairs and Finance.
- Pranab Mukherjee was also the Chairman of Indian Stastical Institute, Kolkata and the chairman of Rabindra Bharti University.
- Apart from being a politician and diplomat he has also worked as a Political Science professor in Vidyanagar College and even as a journalist for Desher Dak , a Bengali newspaper.
- He was voted as the best Finance Minister in the world by Euromoney magazine
- After being sidelined by the Congress, he decided to start his own party called the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress. However the party merged with Congress in 1989
- He has written more than 10 books till date. A few of them being Off the track, Thoughts and reflections, Congress and the making of the Indian nation, The turbulent Years, The Coalition Years, Saga of Struggle and Sacrifices and Midterm Poll.
- He has a personal diary in which he has written about the experiences of his life. It is said that his diary will be published posthumously.
- In 2001 , he was appointed to the Central Election Coordination Committee
- He has received three foreign honours till date. They are – Bangladesh Liberation War Honour, Grand Cross of National Order of the ivory Coast and the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III
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