Rajvanshi Devi, the wife of India's first president, was the country's first lady from 1950 until 1962. The post was vacant during the tenure of
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and was followed by
Shah Jahan Begum, who was the wife of India's third president,
Zakir Husain. Saraswati Bai, wife of the country's fourth president,
V. V. Giri, was the first first lady to take a more public role. She was also the first among the first spouses to hold a public office when she was
Member of Parliament between 1980 and 1989.
Usha Narayanan was the first spouse of foreign origin. Before
Pratibha Patil was sworn in as the first female president of India, the role of the wives of the president was to act as the chief hostess of the Bhavan. In 2007, the office room meant for the first lady went for some minor changes to accommodate the husband of Pratibha Patil,
Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, the country's inaugural "first gentleman". Former first lady
Suvra Mukherjee, the wife of President
Pranab Mukherjee, died in office on 18 August 2015. The position of First Lady remained vacant for the remainder of President Mukherjee's term. The position is currently vacant since 2022, as President
Droupadi Murmu is a widow. == Role ==