Virendra Dayal (born 29January1935) is a retired

Indian Administrative Service 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 ...

officer and United Nations civil servant who served as

Chef de Cabinet In several French-speaking countries and international organisations, a (French; literally 'head of office') is a senior civil servant or official who acts as an aide or private secretary to a high-ranking government figure, typically a minist ...

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

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for more than a decade. He has served as the director of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs of the United Nations and as the

special envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

who probed the allegations levelled against a number of India politicians including

Natwar Singh Kunwar Natwar Singh, IFS (born 16 May 1931) is an Indian diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of External Affairs from May 2004 to December 2005. Singh was selected into the Indian Foreign Service, one of the most competitive an ...

, a former

Minister of External 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 ...

, in the Paul Volcker Committee report of 2005. A former

officer and a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

of 1956 Dayal sat on the

National Human Rights Commission of India The National Human Rights Commission of India (abbreviated as NHRC) is a statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection ...

as a member for twoterms from 1998 to 2006. The Government of India awarded him the thirdhighest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1992, for his contributions to society.

Early and personal life

Born on 29January1935 in the

Allahabad district Allahabad district, officially known as Prayagraj district, is the most populous district of Uttar Pradesh state of India. The district headquarters is Allahabad which was renamed Prayagraj at the same time as the district was renamed. The Di ...

of the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, Dayal did his early schooling at

Sherwood College Sherwood College is a co-educational residential school in Nainital, Uttrakhand , India. It was established in 1869 and is affiliated to CISCE and IGCSE. History Sherwood was founded on 5 June 1869. It was the brain-child of Dr. Condon, H.S. ...

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

. Subsequently, he graduated from St. Stephen's College at the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

in 1954 and continued there to secure his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

( MA) in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in 1956. He was selected for the

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

for the year, which assisted him in pursuing his higher studies at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, which he completed in 1958. Dayal is married to Indira Gupta and the couple has twodaughters, Divya and Jaya.

Early career

Returning to India, Dayal entered the

and started his career as the

district magistrate and collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

(DM) of

Nainital district Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital. Nainital District is located in Kumaon Division, and is located in the lower Himalayas. Haldwani is the largest c ...

, a Himalayan resort location. He is known to have worked for the rehabilitation of the refugees during his stint at Nainital and after two more DM postings at Rampur and

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

districts, he was transferred to 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 ...

. In 1962, when

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

V. S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2018) was a Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienati ...

, and his wife, Patricia, visited India, Dayal hosted the

Trinidadian and Tobagonian Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

couple. At the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, he was posted as a director in the now erstwhile Ministry of Community Development and Cooperation, a post he held till 1965 when he moved to the

United Nations days

Dayal's career at the United Nations (UN) started at the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integratio ...

(UNHCR) and a year later, he was appointed as the chief of the UHCR's Asia Desk at Geneva. In 1968, he was promoted as Deputy Regional Representative and in 1971, he became Regional Representative when he was a member of the UNHCR Focal Point Team, working for the rehabilitation of refugees who fled to India during the

1971 Bangladesh genocide The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali peopl ...

. In 1972, he continued his work in the region as a part of the

United Nations Relief Operations in Bangladesh United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

for onemore year, serving as the special assistant to the chief of mission, but, he returned to UNHCR in 1973, after being posted at the New York Office as Regional Representative. It was during his tenure there, he was involved in the airlifting of refugees in South Asia and in the boat people crisis of Vietnam in his capacity as the

executive assistant A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

of the High Commissioner on Refugees. In 1979, he was appointed as the director of the Office of Special Political Affairs, and three years later, he became

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Mini ...

, fifth

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

. As Chef de Cabinet, Dayal was given the rank of an

under-secretary-general An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

and he attended several diplomatic conferences including the 8thSummit of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath o ...

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

in 1988. He continued at the post during the tenure of the next secretary-general,

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

, until his retirement from UN service in 1993. It was during Boutros-Ghali's incumbency that Dayal assisted the secretary-general in preparing '' An Agenda for Peace: Preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping'', which was presented at the Summit Meeting of the

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

on 31January1992. He was also involved in two diplomatic missions to South Africa, accompanying

Cyrus Vance Cyrus Roberts Vance Sr. (March 27, 1917January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary of ...

, former

United States 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 ...

in July1992 and then visiting the country as

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) is a senior United Nations official appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to deal with a set of specific issues. Examples include the SESGs on Children affected by Armed Conflict, on HIV/A ...

in September1992. On these diplomatic missions, he met F. W. de Klerk and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

a number of times as a part of the

negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

which were reported to have helped in arranging a meeting of the two leaders and in the eventual transition of power through the South African general elections of 1994. In 1990, Dayal was proposed to become

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

by the UN secretary-general,

, but, Dayal's nomination was blocked by the United States due to opposition from

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, the country's president. On this Dayal commented: Japanese diplomat and academic,

Sadako Ogata , was a Japanese academic, diplomat, author, administrator, and professor emerita at the Roman Catholic Sophia University. She was widely known as the head of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to ...

, was eventually appointed to the post of

Post-United Nations career

Dayal returned to India in 1993 and soon was included in the Indian delegation to the Vienna Conference on Human Rights of June1993 which precipitated the

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) is a human rights declaration adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 in Vienna, Austria. The position of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Righ ...

. Later that year, he was appointed by 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 Murmu ...

—on the advice of a committee headed by the

Prime Minister of India 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 ...

—as a member of the

(NHRC) for a five-year term; his term was extended by the president for a further of fiveyears in 1998. His stint with NHRC allowed him to be a part of committees such as the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

, the

International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), formerly known (prior to 2016) as the 'International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions' (sometimes shortened to the International Coordinating Committee ...

and the

Asia Pacific Forum The Asia Pacific Forum (APF) is one of four regional networks of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) within the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs. The APF formerly accredited NHRIs for compliance with the United Nations' Pari ...

and to attend several international conferences on human rights, which included the World Conference against Racism of 2001, held in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa. He also served as a commissioner on the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, a UN appointed commission which submitted its final report in 1998. In 2004, the Paul Volcker Committee set up by

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, reported that some Indian politicians were beneficiaries in the Iraq

Oil-for-Food Programme The Oil-for-Food Programme (OIP), established by the United Nations in 1995 (under United Nations Security Council, UN Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 986, Resolution 986) was established to allow Iraq to sell Petrole ...

, in repose to this, the

set up a machinery with Dayal, as a

, to liaise with the United Nations agencies and probe the alleged involvement of Indian politicians including

Minister of External 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 ...

at the time. He reportedly submitted fournotes of his findings in 2005 and 2006, based on 1,200pages of documents received from the United Nations, but, the reports were never published as the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

, after protracted litigation, accepted the contention of the Prime Minister's Office that the contents could only be used for investigation of possible violations of law. Dayal is currently serving as the chairperson of the scholarship selection committee of Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation, and is the chair of the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Rajeshwar Susheela Dayal Charitable Trust.

Honours

* Dayal was conferred the

, India's thirdhighest civilian honour, for his contributions in the field of

civil service 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 ...

by 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 Murmu ...

in the year 1992. * Dayal was a member of the UN Focal Point Team of the

which was awarded the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

in 1981 for its efforts in handling the refugee crisis in the wake of the 1971Bangladesh genocide.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dayal, Virendra Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service 1935 births People from Prayagraj Sherwood College alumni St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Alumni of University College, Oxford Indian Rhodes Scholars Indian Administrative Service officers Indian diplomats Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees officials Living people Indian officials of the United Nations Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations