Sibi George is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

of the Indian Foreign Service cadre who is Ambassador of India to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He has previously served as Ambassador of India to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

(Vatican City) as well as the Principality of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1993. In 2014, 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, c ...

conferred on him the S.K. Singh Award for Excellence in Indian Foreign Service. This award was conferred upon him during his post as Deputy Chief of Mission to

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Early life and education

George was born in Pala, Kerala. He is a gold medallist graduate of

St. Thomas College, Palai St. Thomas College, Pala is a government aided college of higher education located in Pala town, Kerala, India. It was founded on 7 August 1950 by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai. The college is affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi Unive ...

and has a Master of Arts in Political Science. He also holds a diploma in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

from The American University in Cairo.

Career

Joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1993, George began his diplomatic career in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

where he served in the Mission as Political Officer. Subsequently he moved to the Indian Embassy in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

where he handled Consular, Community, Information and Media affairs as First Secretary. Later he served as Political Counsellor in Indian High Commission in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and as Political Counsellor and Commercial Counsellor at Indian Embassy in

Washington DC ) , 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, ...

. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Indian Missions in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

. At headquarters of Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, he served in East Asia Division and also as coordinator of India–Africa Forum Summit. He later headed Administration, Establishment and Welfare Divisions in the Ministry of External Affairs. He was accredited as the Ambassador of India to

, the

(Vatican City) and the Principality of

in November, 2017 and

in 2020. During his post, he handled the high profile visits of 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 from ...

in January 2018, who visited Switzerland to deliver the keynote address at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2018 in

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

and the recent state visit of President

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

to Switzerland. The President also attended an Indian Community and Friends of India reception hosted by Sibi George

Awards

George was presented the S.K. Singh Award for Excellence in Indian Foreign Service by Former Vice President of India

Mohammad Hamid Ansari Mohammad Hamid Ansari (; born 1 April 1937) is an Indian politician and retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who was the 12th vice president of India from 2007 to 2017. Ansari joined the IFS in 1961. In a diplomatic career spanning 3 ...

. He was congratulated for his services in aiding the Indian expatriates during the Saudi Arabian

Nitaqat Saudization ( ar, السعودة), officially known as Saudi nationalization scheme, or Nitaqat ( ar, النطاقات), is the newest policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implemented by its Ministry of Labor and Social Development, whereby Sa ...

scheme, a law aimed at giving preferential employment to locals, and involving a drive to identify illegal migrant workers. The Indian Embassy negotiated solutions for all the Indians needing help. About 100,000 returned home, while the Embassy and the volunteers worked towards regularising the status of 1.4 million Indians who wanted to stay in Saudi Arabia.

Personal life

He is married to artist Joice John Pampoorethu. They have three children.

References

External links

Ambassador’s Bio Data
Embassy of India, Berne * https://www.indembkwt.gov.in/Ambassador.php {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Sibi Living people People from Kerala People from Pala, Kerala Ambassadors of India to Switzerland Indian Foreign Service officers Ambassadors of India to the Holy See 1967 births