Pratibha Patil is the former and 12th Indian President and the first woman to hold this position. The Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan swore her in as the President of India on 25th July 2007. She succeeded Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Pratibha Patil is a member of the Indian National Congress and was nominated for the Presidency by the ruling United Progressive Alliance and Indian Left. She retired from the designation in July 2012 and was succeeded by Pranab Mukherjee. She previously served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007.

Early Life of Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil was born on 19th December, 1934 in Nandgaon, Maharashtra to Narayan Rao Patil. She completed her studies from R.R. School at Jalgaon. Patil completed her Master"s degree in Political Science and Economics from the Mooljee Jetha College, Jalgaon (affiliated to Pune University). She also received a Bachelor of Law degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai (affiliated to University of Mumbai). Pratibha Patil was an excellent Table Tennis player and during her college days she represented and won various inter-college tournaments.

Career of Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil began her professional career as a Lawyer, practicing in the Jalgaon District Court and also actively worked on numerous social activities, particularly, for the improvement of deprived women.

Political Career of Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil became involved in politics from 1962 at the age of 27 when she was elected for the Jalgaon Assembly constituency in February. Under the guidance of veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister, she became the Deputy Minister for education after re-election in 1967 in the Vasantrao Naik ministry. In the next tenure from 1972 to 1978, Pratibha Patil was the Cabinet Minister for the state. Under several Congress Chief Ministers, Vasantdada Patil, Babasaheb Bhosle, S. B. Chavan and Sharad Pawar, Patil handled the portfolios of tourism, social welfare and housing. She was re-elected to the Assembly every time, either from Jalgaon or the nearby Edlabad constituencies. In 1985, Pratibha Patil was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Congress candidate. She was elected for 4 consecutive times for Muktainagar in Maharashtra, as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly between 1962 and 1985.

Pratibha Patil served as the Deputy Chairwoman in the Rajya Sabha from November 1986 to November 1988. In 1990 when her term expired, she contested the 10th Lok Sabha elections from the Amravati constituency. She has also served as Director of National Federation of Urban Co-operative Banks and Credit Societies and the Member of Governing Council, National Co-operative, Union of India.

In November 2004, Pratibha Patil was appointed as the 24th Governor of Rajasthan when Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. She resigned as the Governor of Rajasthan on 21st June 2007, due to her Presidential nomination. On 14th June 2007, United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the ruling alliance of political parties in India headed by the Indian National Congress, and the Indian left nominated her as their candidate for the Presidential Election. After defeating her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by over 300,000 votes, Patil became the Indian President on 19th July 2007. She took office as India"s first woman president on 25th July 2007. After completing the term of 5 years she retired from the office in July 2012.

Social Works of Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil has established the "Vidya Bharati Shikshan Prasarak Mandal" along with her husband. It is an educational institute under which a chain of schools and colleges run in Mumbai, Jalgaon and Amravati. She has also founded "Shram Sadhana Trust" which runs hostel in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi for working women. She has also set up a co-operative sugar factory known as "Sant Muktabai Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana" at Muktainagar. An eponymous co-operative bank called "Pratibha Mahila Sahakari Bank" was also established by her, which however ceased trading in February 2003, but unfortunately its licence was cancelled by the Reserve Bank of India.

Positions Held by Pratibha Patil
The following are the different positions held by Pratibha Patil during her career in the Indian Politics: