The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years About the Author Pranab Mukherjee assumed office as the President of India on 25 July 2012. He has unparalleled experience in governance, with the rare distinction of having served at different times as Foreign, Defence, Commerce and Finance Minister, as also Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha five times from 1969, and twice to the Lok Sabha from 2004. A recipient of the Padma Vibhushan (2008), Pranab Mukherjee’s intellectual and political process is widely admired. He has been long acclaimed for his role as a consensus builder on difficult national issues.