Education Career:

He was the youngest of five brothers and two sisters. His father Maikulal Kovind ran a small shop. Kovind was born in a mud hut, which eventually collapsed. He was only five when his mother died of burns when their thatched dwelling caught fire. Kovind later donated the land to the community. Kovind was born into the Kori caste, considered underprivileged even among the Dalits. After his elementary school education, he had to walk each day to Kanpur village, 8 km away, to attend a junior school, as nobody in the village had a bicycle. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and an LLB from DAV College, Kanpur University.

Early career:

After graduating in law from DAV College, Kanpur, Kovind went to Delhi to prepare for the civil services examination. He passed this exam on his third attempt, but he did not join because he had only scored high enough to work in an allied service rather than in IAS and thus started practicing law. Kovind enrolled as an advocate in 1971 with the bar council of Delhi. He was Central Government Advocate in the Delhi High Court from 1977-1979. From 1977-1978, he also served as the Personal Assistant of Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai. In 1978, he became an advocate-on-record of the Supreme Court of India and served as a standing counsel for the Central Government in the Supreme Court of India from 1980-1993. He practiced in the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court until 1993. As an advocate, he provided pro-bono aid to weaker sections of society, women, and the poor under the Free Legal Aid Society of New Delhi.

Political Career:

Kovid started his political journey in 1991 with the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 1997, Kovind joined the Protest against certain orders from the Central government that had adverse effects on the SC/ST workers. Later, three amendments were made to the Constitution that revoked the orders, by the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was President of the BJP Dalit Morcha, from 1998-2002 and President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He also served as the National Spokesperson of the party. He donated his ancestral home in Derapur to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Soon after joining the BJP, he contested for Ghatampur assembly constituency, but lost and later contested for Bhognipur in 2007 both in Uttar Pradesh assembly constituency on the BJP ticket but lost again. He was elected and became an MP Rajya Sabha from the state of Uttar Pradesh in April 1994. He served a total of twelve years, two consecutive terms, until March 2006. As a Member of Parliament, he served on the Parliamentary Committee for Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Home Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law, and Justice. He also served as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha House Committee. During his career as a Parliamentarian, under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, he focused on education in rural areas by helping in the construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand. He has served on the Board of Management of Dr. B.R Ambedkar University, Lucknow, and as on the Board of Governors of IIM Calcutta. He has also represented India at the UN and addressed the United Nations General Assembly in October 2002. On 8 August 2015, the then President of India appointed Kovind as Governor of Bihar. On 16 August 2015, the acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Iqbal Ahmad Ansari, administered the oath to Kovind as the 26th Governor of Bihar. The function took place at Raj Bhawan, Patna. Kovind’s appointment was criticized by then Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar as it came months before State Assembly elections and the appointment was made without consulting State Government as recommended by Sarkaria Commission. However, Kovind’s term as governor was praised for constituting a judicial commission to investigate irregularities in the promotion of undeserving teachers, mismanagement of funds, and appointment of undeserving candidates in universities. In June 2017, when Kovind was announced as a candidate for the presidential election, Nitish Kumar backed Kovind’s choice and praised Kovind as being unbiased and working closely with the State Government during his Governorship. After the nomination for the post of 14th President of India, he resigned from his post as Governor of Bihar, and President of India Pranab Mukherjee accepted his resignation on 20 June 2017. He won the election on 20 July 2017. Ram Nath Kovind received 65.65% of the valid votes, against former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, the presidential candidate of the Opposition who received 34.35%.

14th President of India:

Ram Nath Kovind took the oath as the 14th President of India on 25 July 2017. He is the first leader from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to occupy the Office of President of India.

Personal life:

Ram Nath Kovind married Savita Kovind on 30 May 1974. They have a son, Prashant Kumar, and a daughter, Swati Kovind who was an air hostess for Air India.

Visited Countries:

Kovind made trips to 19 different countries, each for a state visit. Djibouti, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland, Zambia, Greece, Suriname, Cuba, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Australia, Croatia, Bolivia, Chile. He as a member of parliament, visited Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States on study tours.