Prathibha Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer. She was the first woman President of India. On 25 July 2007, Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the 12th President of India.
Early Life
She was born on 19 December 1934, in Maharashtra, India. After getting a basic education at R. R. Vidyalaya, Jalgaon, she enrolled in Mooljee Jetha College at Pune University to study Political Science and Economics. Following her master’s degree in the subjects, she got her bachelor’s degree in law at Government Law College, Mumbai.
Throughout her student life, she was equally active in sports. Table tennis was one of her favorite sports.
Political Career
Pratibha Patil started her career as a lawyer at the Jalgaon District Court. Also, she did social work to improve the conditions of women in India.
She joined the INC party while she was a student.
She was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in 1962 at the age of 27. She won her seat in the state assembly four times back-to-back between 1967 and 1985 as a candidate for Muktainagar.
Patil joined the INC government in 1967 as the deputy minister of public health. She also held positions in prohibition, tourism, housing, and parliamentary affairs over the next five years.
From 1972 to 1974, she was Social Affairs Minister, Public Health and Social Welfare Minister, Prohibition Minister, Rehabilitation Minister, Cultural Affairs Minister, Education Minister from 1977 to 1978, Housing Minister from 1982 to 1983, and Civil Supply and Social Welfare Minister from 1983 to 1985.
She won the election on 19 July 2007 with two-thirds of the vote and took oath on 25 July as President of the Republic of India. During her tenure, Dr. Manmohan Singh was PM.
Major Works
She’s made various investments in education over the years. She founded Vidya Bharati Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, a chain of schools and colleges in Amravati, Jalgaon, Pune, and Mumbai, and an engineering college in Jalgaon for rural students.
She’s also invested in setting up Shram Sadhana Trust, which runs several hostels for working women in New Delhi.
Award
She won The Chosen One’s Award at the 2010 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
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