His election to the President's office today comes as a fitting finale for the 77-year-old Congressman from West Bengal, till recently the troubleshooter of UPA, a task he has handled for last eight years.
Not a lawyer by training but considered an expert in the working of the Constitution and governance, he was ever seen as the perennial 'No 2' in government.
Mukherjee was a utility man from the days of Indira Gandhi, when he was the powerful Minister of State for Revenue during the Emergency, and later as Finance Minister in the 80s.
His rise had been steady and such valuable was his contribution to government that his nomination as a Presidential candidate came after a huge dilemma for Congress party, which heads the UPA coalition that has moved from crisis to crisis in the last eight years.
The veteran leader, known for his photographic memory, had become a Rajya Sabha member for the first time in 1969.
Mukherjee was for a long time member of the Upper House before his first direct election to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Jangipur in West Bengal. He repeated his victory in the 2009 elections but had expressed a desire not to contest elections again in view of his advancing age. (More)