Kocheril Raman Narayanan was an Indian diplomat, academician and politician who served as the tenth president of India and ninth vice president of India.
Born in Perumthanam, Uzhavoor village, in the princely state of Travancore, and after a brief stint with journalism and then studying political science at the London School of Economics with the assistance of a scholarship, Narayanan began his career in India as a member of the Indian Foreign Service in the Nehru administration. He served as ambassador to Japan, United Kingdom, Thailand, Turkey, China and United States and was referred to by Nehru as "the best diplomat of the country". He entered politics at Indira Gandhi's request and won three successive general elections to the Lok Sabha and served as a Minister of State in Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet. Elected as vice president in 1992, Narayanan went on to become president in 1997. He was the first person from the Dalit community to hold either post.
Narayanan is regarded as an independent and assertive president who set several precedents and enlarged the scope of India's highest constitutional office.