Admiral Sureesh Mehta,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

, AVSM (born August 18, 1947) served as 19th Chief of the Indian Navy from 31 October 2006 until 31 August 2009. He was succeeded by Nirmal Kumar Verma. He is the first service chief from India's armed forces to be born post Indian Independence. He is married to Maria Teresa Mehta and they have two children.

Early life

Admiral Mehta was born on 18 August 1947. He studied in the National Defence Academy before joining the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. Later, he also graduated from the Defence Services Staff College and the National Defence College.

Military career

After graduating, Admiral Mehta joined the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

of the

, where he flew the

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origin ...

off the aircraft carrier, . He was the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

. Later, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) from 30 September 2005 till his appointment as the Naval Chief. He was appointed as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on 28 September 2007.

Awards and distinctions

In 1995, Admiral Mehta was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal. In 2005, he received the Param Vishist Seva Medal.

High Commissioner to New Zealand

After retirement, the Indian government appointed him as India's High Commissioner to New Zealand.

Awards and decorations

References