Had very productive nine-and-a-half yrs: Hamid Ansari on tenure

On board Special Aircraft: Vice President Hamid Ansari, whose tenure ends later this year, today said the journey has been "very productive" and he has fully enjoyed this phase of his career.

"Every day is a new day, you live with the kind of responsibilities and challenges of the day," he said.

He was responding to a question from the media aboard Air India One, en route to Delhi from Kampala, after winding up his five-day visit of Rwanda and Uganda.

"I have had a very productive nine-and-a-half years (of this tenure). It has been a learning experience and I have enjoyed it," he said.

79-year-old Ansari, who by virtue of his post is also the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, first assumed the office of the Vice President in 2007.

A former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, Ansari was also the Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and Chairman of the National Minorities Commission.

He is the grand-nephew of former Congress President Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, a prominent leader of the freedom struggle.