Uma Shankar Bajpai (1921/1922,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

– 6 February 2005) was an Indian diplomat and a veteran journalist. He was also the director of India International Centre.

Kanti Bajpai Kanti Prasad Bajpai (born 1955) is an Indian academic, international affairs analyst, and the former headmaster of The Doon School, Dehradun, India. He is known to be an expert on Indo-China relations. He is currently a professor at National U ...

, the Indian academic, is his son.

Life and career

Uma Shankar Bajpai was born in

. His father was

Girija Shankar Bajpai Sir Girija Shankar Bajpai (3 April 1891 – 5 December 1954) was an Indian civil servant, diplomat and Governor. Early life and education Bajpai was born in Allahabad to an orthodox Kanyakubja Brahmin family originally from Lucknow. He was the ...

(1891–1954), an eminent Indian civil servant, diplomat and Governor. Bajpai 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 ...

. He was posted at the Karachi Consulate, Pakistan, for some time. Bajpai's last foreign posting was as High Commissioner of Canada. He retired as the Secretary of

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. After his retirement from the Indian Foreign Service, he took the role as director of India International Centre. He is credited with revamping the institution. Uma Shankar Bajpai died on 6 February 2005 at the age of 83.

Details

*Educated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

and Ecole des Hautes Etudes Universitaire. *1948-1952: Under Secretary,

South Block The Secretariat Building or Central Secretariat is where the Cabinet Secretariat is housed, which administers the Government of India. Built in the 1910s, it is home to some of the most important ministries of the Cabinet of India. Situated at ...

. *1952-1955: First Secretary Indian Embassy in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. *1957-1959: First Secretary Indian Embassy in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. *1959-1961: First Secretary Indian Embassy in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. *1965-1966: Minister at the Indian High Commission, London. *1966-1969: Deputy High Commissioner in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. *December 1969 to October 1972: ambassador to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. *October 1972-April 1977: High Commissioner to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. *30 June 1977 – 31 May 1978: ambassador to

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

.Bern
/ref> *August 1979: retirement

References

1920s births 2005 deaths Year of birth missing Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Ambassadors of India to Turkey High Commissioners of India to Canada Ambassadors of India to Switzerland {{India-diplomat-stub