Former President of India(13th) Pranab Mukherjee died on 31st August 2020 at the age of 84 after battling a long illness.In mid-August, he had undergone a brain surgery at the Army Research and Referral hospital in New Delhi. Hours before his death, hospital authorities said his condition had deteriorated and he was in a state of septic shock due to a lung infection.Prior to surgery, he tested COVID-19 positive on 10 August 2020.

His Personal Life :

Pranab Mukherjee was born on 11th December 1935 in the village of Mirati in Birbhum district in West Bengal. His father’s name is Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee, who was an activist in the Indian independence movement. His mother was Rajlakshmi Mukherjee. He married Suvra Mukherjee on 13 July 1957.

His Career :

Pranab Mukherjee took his education at Birbhum. He got MA degree in political science and history and also an LL.B degree from the department of law of the University of Calcutta. He began his career as a clerk in Post and Telegraph Department in Calcutta. He also worked as a journalist with the ‘Desher Dak’ before entering politics.

Pranab Mukherjee became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1969. He was re-elected to the house in 1975, 1981, 1993 and 1999. He was appointed as Union Deputy Minister in 1973. He was appointed as Cabinet Ministers. He held many important posts in the government. He became the 13

th President of India on 25 July 2012.

His Honours:

National Honour:

1.Padhma Vibhushan-India’s second-highest civilian award in 2008

2.Bharat Ratan Award- India highest civilian in 2019.

Foreign Honours

1- Bangladesh Muktijuddho Sanmanona– Bangladesh Liberation War Honour in March 2013. 

2- Grand Cross of National Order of the Ivory Coast– highest state order of knighthood of the Ivory Coast in June 2016.  

3- Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios II– highest order of Merit awarded by Cyprus. 

Academic Honours

• Hon.Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Wolverhampton, the UK in 2011.
• Hon.D.Litt by Assam University in March 2012.
• Hon.D.Litt. by Visvesvaraya Technological University; Belgaum, Karnataka in 2012
• Hon.LL.D. by President of Bangladesh and Chancellor Md. Zillur Rahman at the University of Dhaka on 4 March 2013.
• DCL (Doctor of Civil Law) (honoris causa) by University of Mauritius on 13 March 2013.
• Hon.Doctorate by Istanbul University on 5 October 2013.
• Honorary Doctorate from the University of Calcutta in on 28 November 2014.
• Hon.Doctorate in Political Science by University of Jordan on 11 October 2015.
• Hon.Doctorate by Al-Quds University of Ramallah, Palestine on 13 October 2015.
• Hon. Doctorate by Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel on 15 October 2015.
• Hon.Doctorate by Kathmandu University, Nepal on 3 November 2016.
• Hon. Doctorate by Goa University on 25 April 2017.
• D.Litt.(Honoris Causa) by the Jadavpur University on 24 December 2017.
• Hon.D.Litt by University of Chittagong on 16 January 2018.

Other Recognitions

1- Best Finance Minister in World (1984)– a survey by Euromoney magazine. 

2- Finance Minister of Year for Asia (2010)– Emerging Markets, the daily newspaper of record for World Bank and IMF. 

3- Finance Minister of Year (2010) by the Banker. 

4- Honorary Citizenship of Abidjan, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in June 2016.

Pranab Mukherjee: Books Written

1. Midterm Poll
2. Beyond Survival: Emerging Dimensions of Indian Economy – 1984
3. Off the Track – 1987
4. The saga of Struggle and Sacrifice – 1992
5. Challenges before the Nation – 1992[13]
6. A Centenary History of the Indian National Congress – Vol. V: Volume-V: 1964-1984 – 2011
7. Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation – 2011
8. Thoughts and Reflections – 2014
9. The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years – 2014
10. Selected Speeches – Pranab Mukherjee – 2015
11. The Turbulent Years: 1980 – 1996″ – 2016
12. The Coalition Years