List of Prime Ministers of India by longevity
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Indian Prime Ministers
by longevity. Where the person in question is still living, the longevity is calculated up to .
Two measures of the longevity are given - this is to allow for the differing number of leap days occurring within the life of each Prime Minister. The first column is the number of days between date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; the second column breaks this number down into years and days, with the years being the number of whole years the Prime Minister lived, and the days being the remaining number of days after his/her last birthday
.
The median
age at which a Prime Minister first takes office is roughly 64 years and 8 months, which falls between Gulzarilal Nanda
and Chandra Shekhar. The youngest person to become Prime Minister was Rajiv Gandhi
, who became Prime Minister at the age of 40 years, 72 days. The oldest person to become Prime Minister was Morarji Desai
, who became Prime Minister at the age of 81 years, 23 days.
The oldest living Prime Minister is I. K. Gujral
, born 4 December 1919 (aged ). The second-oldest living Prime Minister is A. B. Vajpayee
, born 25 December 1924 (aged ). The youngest living Prime Minister is H. D. Deve Gowda
, born 18 May 1933 (aged ).
The longest lived Prime Minister was Gulzarilal Nanda
, who lived to the age of 99 years, 195 days. Morarji Desai
was the second-longest lived Prime Minister. Desai lived to the age of 99 years, 40 days, only 155 days short of matching Nanda. I. K. Gujral
, the oldest living Prime Minister, will tie Nanda if he lives to 16 June 2019. The shortest lived Prime Minister was Rajiv Gandhi
, who was assassinated at the age of 46 years, 274 days.
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
by longevity. Where the person in question is still living, the longevity is calculated up to .
Two measures of the longevity are given - this is to allow for the differing number of leap days occurring within the life of each Prime Minister. The first column is the number of days between date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; the second column breaks this number down into years and days, with the years being the number of whole years the Prime Minister lived, and the days being the remaining number of days after his/her last birthday
Birthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
.
Overview
If a Prime Minister served more than one non-consecutive term, the dates listed below are for the beginning of their first term, and the end of their final term.The median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
age at which a Prime Minister first takes office is roughly 64 years and 8 months, which falls between Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda was an Indian politician and an economist with specialization in labour problems. He was the interim Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime...
and Chandra Shekhar. The youngest person to become Prime Minister was Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
, who became Prime Minister at the age of 40 years, 72 days. The oldest person to become Prime Minister was Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
, who became Prime Minister at the age of 81 years, 23 days.
The oldest living Prime Minister is I. K. Gujral
Inder Kumar Gujral
Inder Kumar Gujral served as the 12th Prime Minister of India. Gujral was the first PM to govern exclusively from the Rajya Sabha; , only he and Manmohan Singh have done so.-Early life:...
, born 4 December 1919 (aged ). The second-oldest living Prime Minister is A. B. Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
, born 25 December 1924 (aged ). The youngest living Prime Minister is H. D. Deve Gowda
H. D. Deve Gowda
Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda was the 11th Prime Minister of India and the 14th chief minister of the state of Karnataka ....
, born 18 May 1933 (aged ).
The longest lived Prime Minister was Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda was an Indian politician and an economist with specialization in labour problems. He was the interim Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime...
, who lived to the age of 99 years, 195 days. Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
was the second-longest lived Prime Minister. Desai lived to the age of 99 years, 40 days, only 155 days short of matching Nanda. I. K. Gujral
Inder Kumar Gujral
Inder Kumar Gujral served as the 12th Prime Minister of India. Gujral was the first PM to govern exclusively from the Rajya Sabha; , only he and Manmohan Singh have done so.-Early life:...
, the oldest living Prime Minister, will tie Nanda if he lives to 16 June 2019. The shortest lived Prime Minister was Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
, who was assassinated at the age of 46 years, 274 days.
Prime Ministers of India
| # |
Prime Minister |
Date of birth |
Start date of (first) term |
Age at beginning of (first) term |
End date of (final) term |
Total time in office |
Date of death |
Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the... |
14 November 1889 | days | days | ||||
| 2 | Gulzarilal Nanda Gulzarilal Nanda Gulzarilal Nanda was an Indian politician and an economist with specialization in labour problems. He was the interim Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime... |
4 July 1898 | days | days | ||||
| 3 | Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:... |
2 October 1904 | days | days | ||||
| 4 | Indira Gandhi Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists... |
19 November 1917 | days | days | ||||
| 5 | Morarji Desai Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress... |
29 February 1896 | days | days | ||||
| 6 | Charan Singh | 23 December 1902 | days | days | ||||
| 7 | Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira... |
20 August 1944 | days | days | ||||
| 8 | V. P. Singh | 25 June 1931 | days | days | ||||
| 9 | Chandra Shekhar | 1 July 1927 | days | days | ||||
| 10 | P. V. Narasimha Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparti Venkata "Narasimha Rao" was the ninth Prime Minister of India . He led an important administration, overseeing a major economic transformation and several home incidents affecting national security of India. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj. He is often referred to as... |
28 June 1921 | days | days | ||||
| 11 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from... |
25 December 1924 | days | days | ||||
| 12 | H. D. Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda was the 11th Prime Minister of India and the 14th chief minister of the state of Karnataka .... |
18 May 1933 | days | days | ||||
| 13 | I. K. Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral served as the 12th Prime Minister of India. Gujral was the first PM to govern exclusively from the Rajya Sabha; , only he and Manmohan Singh have done so.-Early life:... |
4 December 1919 | days | days | ||||
| 14 | Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian... |
26 September 1932 | Incumbent | days | days | |||
| # | Prime Minister | Date of birth | Start date of (first) term |
Age at beginning of first) term |
End date of (final) term |
Total time in office |
Date of death | Lifespan |