Pratibha Patil Birthday Special: Lesser-known facts about the former President of India

The 12th President of India, Pratibha Patil, was born on December 19 in the year 1934. Pratibha Patil is a lawyer and a politician who was also the first woman President of India. From the year 2004 to 2007, she had served as the Governor of Rajasthan.

She will celebrate her 88th birthday on December 19. On her birthday, here are some facts you should definitely know about the first woman president of India:

• Patil has a Master's degree in Political Science and Economics. After completing post-graduation, she began to practice law. At that time, she had also developed an interest in social issues such as improving the conditions faced by Indian women

• In 1962, at the age of 27, she was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the Jalgaon constituency. Thereafter, she won in the Muktainagar constituency on four consecutive occasions between 1967 and 1985

• Between 1985 and 1990, she became a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha

• In November 2004, she was appointed as the 24th Governor of Rajasthan, and with this title, she also became the first woman to hold that office

• In the voting process for the President of India, Patil garnered nearly two-thirds of the votes and took office as India's first woman president on July 25, 2007

• Pratibha Patil was dubbed as the most merciful President in 30 years since 1981

• According to the records, Patil was noted for having spent more money on foreign trips, and having taken a greater number of foreign trips, than any prior president

• Along with her husband, she has set up Vidya Bharati Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, an institute which runs a chain of schools and colleges in Amravati, Jalgaon and Mumbai

• She has also set up Shram Sadhana Trust, which runs hostels for working women in New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune

• She also founded a sugar factory known as Sant Muktabai Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana.