Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (born 9 January 1955) is an Indian diplomat and politician serving as the
Minister of External Affairs of the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
since 30 May 2019. He is a member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
and a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
in the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
since 5 July 2019, representing
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. He previously served as the
Foreign Secretary from January 2015
to January 2018.
He joined the
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
in 1977 and during his diplomatic career spanning over 38 years, he served in different capacities in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and abroad including as a
High Commissioner to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
(2007–09) and as Ambassador to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(2001–04),
China (2009–2013) and the
US (2014–2015). Jaishankar played a key role in negotiating the
Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement.
On retirement, Jaishankar joined
Tata Sons
Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of ...
as the President, Global Corporate Affairs. In 2019, he was conferred with
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
, India's fourth highest civilian honour. On 30 May 2019, he was sworn in as a
cabinet minister in the
second Modi ministry
The Second Ministry of Narendra Modi is the Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi that was formed after the 2019 general election which was held in seven phases in 2019. The results of the election were announ ...
. He was made the
Minister of External Affairs on 31 May 2019. He is the first former
Foreign Secretary to head the
Ministry of External Affairs as the
Cabinet Minister.
Early life and education
Jaishankar was born in a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
family in New Delhi, India to prominent Indian strategic affairs analyst, commentator and civil servant
K. Subrahmanyam and Sulochana Subrahmanyam.
He has two brothers: the historian
Sanjay Subrahmanyam and the
IAS officer
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...
S. Vijay Kumar, former Rural Development Secretary of India.
Jaishankar did his schooling from
The Air Force School
The Air Force School (TAFS), formerly known as Air Force Central School (AFCS), was set up primarily to provide education to the children of Indian Air Force personnel.
It was founded in 1955 by the Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee, the Chief ...
, Subroto Park, New Delhi, and is a graduate in Chemistry from
St. Stephen's College at the
University of Delhi
Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...
. He has an MA in Political Science and an M.Phil. and
PhD in International Relations from
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
(JNU), where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy.
Diplomatic career
After joining the
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
in 1977, Jaishankar served as third secretary and second secretary in the Indian mission to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
from 1979 to 1981, where he studied Russian. He returned to
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
, where he worked as a special assistant to the diplomat
Gopalaswami Parthasarathy
Captain Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, popularly known as G. Parthasarathy (born 13 May 1940) is a former commissioned officer in the Indian Army (1963-1968) and a diplomat and author. He has served as the High Commissioner of India, Cyprus (19 ...
and as undersecretary in the Americas division of India's
Ministry of External Affairs, dealing with United States. He was part of the team that resolved the dispute over the supply of US nuclear fuel to the Tarapur Power Stations in India.
From 1985 to 1988 he was the first secretary at the
Indian embassy in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
From 1988 to 1990, he served in
Sri Lanka as First Secretary and political adviser to the
Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF).
From 1990 to 1993, he was Counsellor (Commercial) at the Indian mission in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. Returning to New Delhi, he served as Director (East Europe) in the
Ministry of External Affairs and as press secretary and speechwriter for
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...
Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh who served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997.
Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahaba ...
.
Jaishankar was then Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
from 1996 to 2000.
This period saw a downturn in
Indo-Japan relations following India's
Pokhran-II
The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb Nuclear weapons testing, test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran#Pokhran Nuclear Test Range, Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear t ...
nuclear tests as well as a recovery after a visit to India by then
Japanese Prime Minister
The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...
Yoshiro Mori. Jaishankar is reported to have helped introduce future Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzō Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
to his Indian counterpart,
Manmohan Singh. In 2000, he was appointed India's ambassador to the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
.
From 2004 to 2007, Jaishankar was Joint Secretary (Americas) at the
Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. In this capacity, he was involved in negotiating the
US-India civil nuclear agreement and improving defence co-operation, including during relief operations following the
2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
. Jaishankar was also involved with the conclusion of the 2005 New Defense Framework and the
Open Skies
The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberali ...
Agreement, and he was associated with the launch of the US-India Energy Dialogue, the India-US Economic Dialogue, and the India-US CEO's Forum. In 2006–2007, Jaishankar led the Indian team during the negotiations on the
123 Agreement with United States. He also represented the Indian government at the
Carnegie Endowment
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded i ...
International Non-proliferation Conference in June 2007.
Jaishankar was reportedly considered for the post of India's
Foreign Secretary in 2013.
High Commissioner to Singapore
From 2007 to 2009, Jaishankar served as India's
High Commissioner to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. During his tenure, he helped implement the
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that expanded the Indian business presence in Singapore, and oversaw a defence arrangement by which Singapore keeps some of its military equipment in India on a permanent basis. Jaishankar also promoted the
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, and IIMPact in Singapore.
Ambassador to China
Jaishankar was India's longest-serving
ambassador to China, with a four-and-a-half-year term.
In Beijing, Jaishankar was involved in improving economic, trade and cultural relations between China and India, and in managing the
Sino-Indian border dispute.
Jaishankar's tenure as India's ambassador to China coincided with several major developments in relations between the two countries.
[Jaishankar moving to U.S. after eventful tenure in China](_blank)
''The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'', 13 December 2013 His 2010 briefing to the
Indian Cabinet Committee on Security regarding China's refusal to issue a visa to the head of the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
’s
Northern Command led to a suspension of Indian defence co-operation with China, before the situation was resolved in April 2011. Also in 2010, Jaishankar negotiated an end to the Chinese policy of issuing stapled visas to Indians from
Jammu and Kashmir. In 2012, in response to
Chinese passport
The People's Republic of China Passport (), commonly referred to as the Chinese passport, is a passport issued to citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the purpose of international travel, and entitles its bearer to the protec ...
s showing
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
and
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...
as parts of China, he ordered visas issued to Chinese nationals showing those territories as parts of India. And in May 2013, he negotiated the end of a stand-off resulting from the
encampment
Camp may refer to:
Outdoor accommodation and recreation
* Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site
* a temporary settlement for nomads
* Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
by China's
People's Liberation Army on
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...
’s
Depsang Plains, threatening to cancel
Premier Li Keqiang’s scheduled visit to India if Chinese forces did not withdraw (''See also''
2013 Daulat Beg Oldi Incident
Thirteen or 13 may refer to:
* 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14
* One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013
Music
* 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band
Albums
* ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013
* ...
). Jaishankar also briefed the media after the conclusion of Li's visit to New Delhi in May 2013.
Jaishankar advocated deeper Indian co-operation with China as long as India's "core interests" were respected, and argued for better
market access
In international trade, market access is a company's ability to enter a foreign market by selling its goods and services in another country. Market access is not the same as free trade, because market access is normally subject to conditions or req ...
for Indian businesses operating in China on the grounds that more balanced trade was necessary for the bilateral economic relationship to be sustainable. He was also involved in improving people-to-people contacts between India and China, promoting events that showcased Indian culture in 30 Chinese cities.
Ambassador to United States
Jaishankar was appointed as India's Ambassador to United States in September 2013. He took charge on 23 December 2013 succeeding
Nirupama Rao.
He arrived in United States amid the
Devyani Khobragade incident
On December 11, 2013, Devyani Khobragade, then the Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of India in New York City, was charged by U.S. authorities with committing visa fraud and providing false statements in order to gain entry to the ...
, and was involved in negotiating the Indian diplomat's departure from United States. On 29 January 2014, Jaishankar addressed the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he argued that "the grand strategy underwriting
ndian-Americanties is fundamentally sound" but that ties suffered from a "problem of sentiment."
On 10 March 2014, he formally presented his credentials to US President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
at the
Oval Office.
Jaishankar was involved in planning of the
Indian Prime Minister
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
's maiden visit to United States in September 2014, welcoming him upon his arrival and hosting a dinner in his honour for members of the
Indian-American community.
Foreign Secretary
Jaishankar was appointed as
Foreign Secretary of India on 29 January 2015. The announcement of his appointment was made following a 28 January 2015 meeting of the
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
.
[ACC Appointment](_blank)
'' Press Information Bureau'', 29 January 2015[S Jaishankar, is the new foreign secretary](_blank)
''Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'', 29 January 2015 Jaishankar is widely credited by Nepalese analysts for being the "original planner of
2015 Nepal blockade".
Political career
Minister of External Affairs
On 31 May 2019, he was appointed to the Office of
Minister of External Affairs. Jaishankar was sworn in as
Cabinet minister on 30 May 2019.
On 5 July 2019, he was elected as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
from
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...
to the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
from
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
state. He succeeded late
Sushma Swaraj
Sushma Swaraj () (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019) was an Indian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. She is only ...
who was the
External Affairs Minister in
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...
's Government in his first stint.
In October 2020, Jaishankar and the
Indian Minister of Defence,
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as ...
met with
US Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
and
US Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
Mark T. Esper to sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation (BECA), which facilitates the sharing of sensitive information and intelligence—including access to highly-accurate nautical, aeronautical, topographical, and geospatial data—between United States and India. The agreement had been under discussion for over a decade, but previous concerns over information security impelled the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government to block it. In response to the dialogue, Chinese spokesperson for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thailand ...
criticised the move and advised Pompeo to "abandon his Cold War mentality, zero-sum mindset, and stop harping on the 'China threat.'"
Personal life
Jaishankar is married to Kyoko, who is of Japanese origin and has two sons—Dhruva and Arjun—and a daughter, Medha.
He speaks
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
, conversational
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and some
Hungarian.
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Ambassador’s Bio Data Embassy of India, Washington DC
Interview China Central Television, 3 August 2010
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaishankar, Subrahmanyam
1955 births
Indian Foreign Secretaries
Living people
St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni
Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni
People from Delhi
High Commissioners of India to Singapore
Ambassadors of India to the United States
Ambassadors of India to China
Ambassadors of India to the Czech Republic
Indian Foreign Service officers
Narendra Modi ministry
Members of the Cabinet of India
Ministers for External Affairs of India
Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat
Recipients of the Padma Shri in civil service
Rajya Sabha members from the Bharatiya Janata Party