Maharaj Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...

Nagendra Singh (18 March 1914 – 11 December 1988) was an Indian lawyer and administrator who served as President of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

from 1985 to 1988. He was one of the four judges from India to have been Judges of the International Court of Justice in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, the others being B. N. Rau (1952–1953),

R. S. Pathak Raghunandan Swarup Pathak (25 November 1924 – 17 November 2007) was the 18th Chief Justice of India. He was the son of Gopal Swarup Pathak, a former Vice President of India. He was one of the four judges from India to have been on the Inter ...

(1989–1991) the 18th Chief Justice of India, and

Dalveer Bhandari Dalveer Bhandari (born 1 October 1947) is one of the Judges of the International Court of Justice. He is a former Judge of Supreme Court of India. He is also the former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and a Judge of Delhi High Court. Early ...

(2012–), former Justice of the Supreme Court of India.

Early life

Singh was born in

Dungarpur State Dungarpur State was a princely state during the British Raj. Its capital was the city of Dungarpur in the southernmost area of present-day Rajasthan State in India. In 1901 the total population of Dungarpur State was 100,103, while that of t ...

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 ...

as the third son of Bijaya Singh and Devendra Kunwar Sahiba. He was educated at

Mayo College Mayo College (informally Mayo) is a boys-only independent boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, who was the Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872. This makes it one of the oldest pu ...

, Ajmer. He hails from a royal

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

family. Before joining the Civil Service he was educated at St John's College, Cambridge.

Career

He joined the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

and served as Regional Commissioner for the Eastern States, a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, joint secretary for India's Defense Ministry, Director-General of Transport, and special secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Between 1966 and 1972 Singh was secretary to the

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 ...

, then from 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973 he was

Chief Election Commissioner of India The Chief Election Commissioner of India heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures and of President and Vice-President. This power of th ...

. In 1966, 1969, and 1975, he was appointed a representative of India in the United Nations Assembly and served on the United Nations

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

on a part-time basis from 1967 to 1972. He was also elected as secretary of the International Bar Association. In 1973, he moved to

to become a judge of the International Court of Justice and was its president between February 1985 and February 1988, when he retired. He continued to live at the Hague and died there in December 1988.

Honours

Singh was awarded the Kama award in 1938, and in 1973 he received the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

from 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, ...

External links

1914 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Indian judges Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Chief Election Commissioners of India Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Indian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals International Law Commission officials Members of the Constituent Assembly of India People from Dungarpur Presidents of the International Court of Justice Rajasthani people Rajasthani politicians Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs {{India-diplomat-stub

Early life

Career

Honours

See also

External links