Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Reddy in January 1977
President of India
In office 25 July 1977 – 25 July 1982
Prime Minister	Morarji Desai Charan Singh Indira Gandhi
Vice President	B. D. Jatti Mohammad Hidayatullah
Preceded by	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed[a]
Succeeded by	Zail Singh
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
In office 17 March 1967 – 19 July 1969
Deputy	R.K. Khadilkar
Preceded by	Hukam Singh
Succeeded by	Gurdial Singh Dhillon
In office 26 March 1977 – 13 July 1977
Deputy	Godey Murahari
Preceded by	Bali Ram Bhagat
Succeeded by	K. S. Hegde
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 23 March 1977 – 13 July 1977
Preceded by	Pendekanti Venkatasubbaiah
Succeeded by	Pendekanti Venkatasubbaiah
Constituency	Nandyal
Union Minister of Transport and Aviation
In office 24 January 1966 – 13 March 1967
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Preceded by	Raj Bahadur
Succeeded by	V. K. R. V. Rao
Union Minister of Steel and Mines
In office 11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966
Prime Minister	Gulzarilal Nanda
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	C. M. Poonacha
In office 9 June 1964 – 11 January 1966
Prime Minister	Lal Bahadur Shastri
Preceded by	Chidambaram Subramaniam
Succeeded by	Himself
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 1974–1977
Preceded by	JC Nagi Reddy
Succeeded by	G Swamy Naik
Constituency	Andhra Pradesh
In office 1970–1972
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	N. Janardhana Reddy
Constituency	Andhra Pradesh
In office 1964–1970
Preceded by	S Chenna Reddy
Succeeded by	Himself
Constituency	Andhra Pradesh
President of the Indian National Congress
In office 1960–1963
Preceded by	Indira Gandhi
Succeeded by	K. Kamaraj
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
In office 12 March 1962 – 20 February 1964
Governor	Bhim Sen Sachar Satyawant Mallannah Shrinagesh
Deputy Chief Minister	K. V. Ranga Reddy (1962)
Preceded by	Damodaram Sanjivayya
Succeeded by	Kasu Brahmananda Reddy
In office 1 November 1956 – 11 January 1960
Governor	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi Bhim Sen Sachar
Deputy Chief Minister	K. V. Ranga Reddy (1959–1960)
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Damodaram Sanjivayya
Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra
In office 30 March 1955 – 31 October 1956
Governor	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
Chief Minister	Bezawada Gopala Reddy
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Office dissolved
In office 1 October 1953 – 15 November 1954
Governor	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
Chief Minister	Tanguturi Prakasam
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	President's rule
President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee
In office 1953–1955
AICC President	Jawaharlal Nehru U. N. Dhebar
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Bezawada Gopala Reddy
Personal details
Born	(1913-05-19)19 May 1913 Illur, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died	1 June 1996(1996-06-01) (aged 83) Bangalore, Karnataka, India (present-day Bengaluru)
Political party	Janata Party (from 1977)
Other political affiliations	Indian National Congress (before 1977)
Spouse	Neelam Nagaratnamma ​ (m. 1935)​
Relatives	T. Nagi Reddy (brother-in-law)
Alma mater	University of Madras

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the president of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence movement, he went on to hold several key offices in independent India – as deputy chief minister of Andhra state and the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, a two-time Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a Union Minister— before becoming the Indian president.^[1]

Born in present-day Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, Reddy completed his schooling at Adayar and joined the Government Arts College at Anantapur. He quit to become an Indian independence activist and was jailed for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly in 1946 as a Congress party representative. Reddy became the deputy chief minister of Andhra State in 1953 and the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1956. He was a union cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi from 1964 to 1967 and Lok Sabha Speaker from 1967 to 1969. He later retired from active politics but returned in 1975, responding to Jayaprakash Narayan's call for "Total Revolution" against the Indira Gandhi Government.

Elected to Parliament in 1977 as a candidate of the Janata Party, Reddy was unanimously elected speaker of the 6th Lok Sabha and three months later, was elected unopposed as president of India. As president, Reddy worked with prime ministers Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, and Indira Gandhi. Reddy was succeeded by Zail Singh in 1982, and he retired to his farm in Anantapur. He died in 1996 and his samadhi is at Kalpally Burial Ground, Bangalore. In 2013, the Government of Andhra Pradesh commemorated Reddy's birth centenary.

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