V.V. Giri (24 August 1969 – 24 August 1974)
After the death of Dr. Zakir Husain, V.V. Giri became the first ever Acting President of India in 1969. On 20th July 1969, he resigned from the post of Acting President to contest election as an independent candidate. He won the election and held office for a full term of five years from 24th August 1969, to 24th August 1974. He became the only person to be elected as an independent candidate.
He was born in Behrampur in the present Ganjam district of Odisha on 10th August 1894. He completed his initial education at the Khallikote College in Behrampur. In 1913, he went to Ireland to study law at the University College, Dublin. The same year Giri met Gandhiji who influenced him greatly. He didn’t complete his law degree in Ireland and came back to India.
Upon returning to India, he became a member of the Congress party. In 1926, he was elected as the president of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). In 1942, he was imprisoned for participating in the Quit India Movement.
In May 1967, he was elected as the third vice president of India and remained in office for the next two years. Then, after the death of Dr. Zakir Husain he became the president. Giri was the first vice president not to complete his full term in office, on account of being elevated to the office of the president and was the third vice president to be elected to the presidency.
His memoir My Life and Times is a very famous book.
Picture Credit : Google
