K. R. Narayanan
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| Date of Birth: | 27 October 1920 |
| President of India | |
| Tenure Order: | 10th President |
| Took Office: | 25 July 1997 |
| Left Office: | 25 July 2002 |
| Predecessor: | Dr. Shankar Sharma |
| Successor: | Dr. Abdul Kalam |
Kocheril Raman Narayanan, usually known just as K. R. Narayanan (b. October 27, 1920) was President of the republic of India from 1997 to 2002.
On July 25, 1997 he was sworn-in as India's 10th president and the first member of a Dalit ("untouchable") caste to hold that office.
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Education
K.R. Narayanan was born in the village of Uzhavoor in Kottayam district of Kerala. He obtained his M.A. degree in English from the University of Travancore, standing first in the university. He then obtained his B.Sc.(Economics) degree with a specialization in Political Science, from London School of Economics with First Class Honours.
Career
As a Diplomat
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1949 and served in embassies in Rangoon, Tokyo, Hanoi, Canberra and in London. He was a close confidant of Jawaharlal Nehru, who would later become the first Prime Minister of India. K.R. Narayanan has served as the Indian ambassador to Thailand (1967-69), Turkey (1973-75), People's Republic of China (1976-78). He was the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs in 1976. He was the first diplomat to serve as ambassador of India in China (1976-78) since the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict.
While serving in Rangoon, he met his future wife who adopted the Hindu name "Usha".
In public Office
Narayanan later entered politics and won three successive Lok Sabha General Elections as a represenative from the constituency of Ottapalam in Kerala. He was a Member of Parliament and a minister in the Union cabinet. He was elected as the Vice-President of India on August 21, 1992, and then President in 1997.
Honors
Shri Narayanan has received several degrees and honours. These are : Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), University of Toledo, USA; Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa), Australian National University; Australian National University has instituted an annual "K.R. Narayanan Oration"; Honorary Professor of Bishkek Humanities University (Kyrghyz Republic); Vachaspati (D. Litt) (Honoris Causa), Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi; Doctorate (Honoris Causa), University of San Marcos, Peru; Doctorate of Letters (Honoris Causa), Tribhuvan University, Nepal; Doctorate of Political Science (Honoris Causa), Bilkent University, Turkey. Shri Narayanan is the Visitor of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and several other Central Universities. He has also been the Chancellor of Delhi University, Punjab University, Pondicherry University, Assam University, North Eastern Hill University and Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed University); Visitor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University Institute of Journalism, Bhopal; Visitor of Madras School of Economics. Shri Narayanan has delivered Convocation Addresses at several Universities in India and abroad. The President has gone on State Visits to Peru, Brazil, Nepal, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg and Turkey, Austria, France, China and Singapore.
Books, articles and Papers authored
- Nehru and His Vision by K. R Narayanan (D.C. Books, 1999) ISBN 8126400390
- India and America: Essays in Understanding by K.R. Narayanan (Asia Book Corp of Amer (1984) ISBN 999764137X
- Images and Insights
- Non Alignment in Contemporary International Relations -(Joint Authorship)
- Biographies
- K.R. Narayanan: Just the president of India by Sita Ram Sharma (Sublime Publications, 1998) ISBN 8185809232
- K.R. Narayanan: A journey from Uzhavoor to Raisina Hills by Darshan Singh (United Children's Movement, 1999) ASIN B0006FEHU8de:Kocheril Raman Narayanan