Indian Foreign Service · 1974 – 2013
Diplomatic Career
Thirty-nine years in the Indian Foreign Service. His postings ran from Tokyo and Colombo to London and Brasília, and much of the work was multilateral: trade negotiations in Geneva and two tours as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Chronology
Postings and assignments
- 1974
Joins the Indian Foreign Service
He entered the Foreign Service after postgraduate study in history at the University of Delhi. Over the next 39 years he held senior positions in the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence.
Source: MoPNG biography - Jan 1976 – Oct 1978
Embassy of India, Tokyo
His first overseas assignment was at the Indian Embassy in Japan.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 - Sep 1981 – Dec 1984
First Secretary (GATT), Permanent Mission of India, Geneva
He handled India's work in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. This was the first of three stints on India's delegation to the GATT and UN in Geneva, according to the ministry's biography.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 · MoPNG biography - Dec 1984 – Mar 1988
High Commission of India, Colombo
His personal website gives his post as First Secretary (Political) during a period that included the 1987 India–Sri Lanka Accord.
- Mar 1988 – Jul 1991
Coordinator, UNDP/UNCTAD Multilateral Trade Negotiations Project, Geneva
On secondment to the United Nations during the Uruguay Round, which later produced the World Trade Organization. The project supported developing countries in the negotiations.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 - 1990s
Senior positions in the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence
The official biographies record senior positions at headquarters in New Delhi but do not give titles or dates. Secondary sources give Joint Secretary postings; these have not been confirmed in an official source and are left out here.
Source: MoPNG biography - Jan 1999 – Mar 2002
Deputy High Commissioner, London
Second-ranking diplomat at the High Commission of India in the United Kingdom.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 - Mar 2002 – Nov 2005
Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations, Geneva
Head of India's mission to the UN Office at Geneva and other Geneva-based organisations, including those dealing with trade, human rights and disarmament.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 · MoPNG biography - Jan 2006 –
Ambassador of India to Brazil
His personal website gives this posting as 2006–2008.
- Jun 2008 –
Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi
A secretary-level post at the Ministry of External Affairs headquarters.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 - 8 May 2009 – 2013
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York
He presented his credentials to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 8 May 2009. His tenure included India's 2011–12 term on the Security Council.
Source: UN press release BIO/4081 · MoPNG biography - Aug 2011 · Nov 2012
President of the UN Security Council
The presidency rotates monthly among Council members in English alphabetical order. India held it in August 2011 and November 2012, and he presided in both months.
Source: MoPNG biography - 2011 – 2012
Chair, Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee
The committee was set up under Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), adopted after the September 2001 attacks. It monitors how member states implement counter-terrorism obligations.
Source: MoPNG biography · hardeepsinghpuri.com - 28 Feb 2013
Retires from the Indian Foreign Service
His diplomatic career ended after 39 years.
Source: MoPNG biography
Reading the record
What an ambassador's record does and does not show
A diplomat represents a government's positions; they are not personal positions. Security Council resolutions, trade agreements and committee reports are institutional outcomes. Many states negotiate them together.
This page therefore records offices held and dates, which can be verified. It does not credit any outcome to one person. His own account of the Security Council years is in his 2016 book Perilous Interventions.
Sources
- United Nations press release BIO/4081 (8 May 2009), archived copy — web.archive.org/web/20180115023354/http://www.un.org:80/press/en/2009/…
- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas — Meet the Minister — mopng.gov.in/en/about-us/meet-the-minister
- hardeepsinghpuri.com — Know about him — hardeepsinghpuri.com/know-about-him