S Jaishankar

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (born 9 January 1955), better known as S. Jaishankar, is an Indian politician and retired diplomat of the Indian foreign service (IFS) who has held the office of the minister of external affairs of the Government of India since 31 May 2019. He is the longest serving minister of external affairs since Jawaharlal Nehru, who held the position throughout his 17 years as prime minister. Jaishankar is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of parliament who sits in the Rajya Sabha. He previously served as the foreign secretary of India from 2015 to 2018.

Jaishankar joined the IFS in 1977, and during a diplomatic career spanning over 38 years, served in different capacities in India and abroad, including as a high commissioner to Singapore (2007–2009) and as ambassador to the Czech Republic (2001–2004), China (2009–2013) and the United States (2014–2015). Jaishankar was one of the officials in the ministry of external affairs, the department of atomic energy, and the prime minister's office, who played a key role in negotiating the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement. On retirement, Jaishankar received an unusual exemption from the “cooling off period” mandated for all retiring civil servants and joined Tata Sons as president, global corporate affairs. In January 2019, Jaishankar was conferred with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour.

In May 2019, Jaishankar was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the second Modi ministry. He has been credited for maintaining stable relations between India and China even after the Doklam Standoff. Jaishankar is the first former foreign secretary of India to head the ministry of external affairs as cabinet minister.

Early life and education

Jaishankar was born on 9 January 1955 in Delhi, India, to a prominent Indian civil servant Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam and Sulochana Subrahmanyam. He was brought up in a Tamil Hindu family. He has a sister, Sudha Subrahmanyam, and two brothers: historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam and IAS officer S. Vijay Kumar, former rural development secretary of India.

Jaishankar did his schooling at The Air Force School, Delhi, and at the Bangalore Military School, Bangalore. He then did his bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Stephen's College, Delhi of Delhi University. He has an MA in political science and an M.Phil. and PhD in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy.

Diplomatic career (1979–2018)

After joining the IFS in 1977, Jaishankar served as third secretary and second secretary in the Indian mission to the Soviet Union in Moscow from 1979 to 1981. He returned to New Delhi, where he worked as a special assistant to diplomat Gopalaswami Parthasarathy and as undersecretary in the Americas division of India's ministry of external affairs, dealing with United States. He was part of the team that resolved the dispute over the supply of US nuclear fuel to the Tarapur Power Stations in India. From 1985 to 1988, he was the first secretary at the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C.

From 1988 to 1990, he served in Sri Lanka as first secretary and political adviser to the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF). From 1990 to 1993, he was counsellor (commercial) at the Indian mission in Budapest. Returning to New Delhi, he served as director (East Europe) in the ministry of external affairs and as press secretary and speechwriter for Shankar Dayal Sharma, then president of India.

Jaishankar was then deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Tokyo from 1996 to 2000. This period saw a downturn in India–Japan relations following India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests as well as a recovery after a visit to India by then Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori. Jaishankar is reported to have helped introduce future Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe to Manmohan Singh. In 2000, he was appointed India's ambassador to the Czech Republic.

From 2004 to 2007, Jaishankar was joint secretary (Americas) at the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi. In this capacity, he was involved in negotiating the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement and improving defence cooperation, including during relief operations following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Jaishankar was also involved with the conclusion of the 2005 New Defense Framework and the Open Skies Agreement, and he was associated with the launch of the India–United States Energy Dialogue, the India-United States Economic Dialogue, and the India-United States CEO's Forum. In 2006–2007, Jaishankar led the Indian team during the negotiations on the 123 Agreement with the United States. He also represented the Indian government at the Carnegie Endowment International Non-proliferation Conference in June 2007.

Jaishankar was one of those considered for the post of India's foreign secretary in 2013 but lost out to Sujatha Singh, who became the third woman to serve in the post.

High Commissioner to Singapore

From 2007 to 2009, Jaishankar served as India's high commissioner to Singapore. During his tenure, he helped implement the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that expanded India's business presence in Singapore, and oversaw a defence arrangement by which Singapore keeps some of its military equipment in India on a permanent basis. Jaishankar also promoted the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, and IIMPact in Singapore.

Ambassador to China

Jaishankar was India's longest-serving ambassador to China, with a four-and-a-half-year term. In Beijing, Jaishankar was involved in improving economic, trade and cultural relations between China and India, and in managing the Sino-Indian border dispute.

Jaishankar's tenure as India's ambassador to China coincided with several major developments in relations between the two countries.Jaishankar moving to U.S. after eventful tenure in China
''The Hindu'', 13 December 2013. His 2010 briefing to the Indian cabinet committee on security regarding China's refusal to issue a visa to the head of the Indian Army's Northern Command led to a suspension of Indian defence co-operation with China, before the situation was resolved in April 2011. Also in 2010, Jaishankar negotiated an end to the Chinese policy of issuing stapled visas to Indians from Jammu and Kashmir. In 2012, in response to Chinese passports showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as parts of China, he ordered visas issued to Chinese nationals showing those territories as parts of India. In May 2013, he negotiated the end of a stand-off resulting from the encampment by China's People's Liberation Army on Ladakh's Depsang Plains, threatening to cancel Premier Li Keqiang's scheduled visit to India if Chinese forces did not withdraw

Jaishankar advocated deeper Indian cooperation with China as long as India's "core interests" were respected, and argued for better market access for Indian businesses operating in China on the grounds that more balanced trade was necessary for the bilateral economic relationship to be sustainable. He was also involved in improving people-to-people contacts between India and China, promoting events that showcased Indian culture in 30 Chinese cities.

Ambassador to the United States

Jaishankar was appointed India's ambassador to the United States in September 2013. He took charge on 23 December 2013, succeeding Nirupama Rao. He arrived in the United States amid the Devyani Khobragade incident, and was involved in negotiating the Indian diplomat's departure from the country. On 29 January 2014, Jaishankar addressed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he argued that "the grand strategy underwriting ndian-Americanties is fundamentally sound" but that ties suffered from a "problem of sentiment."

On 10 March 2014, he formally presented his credentials to US President Barack Obama at the Oval Office. Jaishankar was involved in the planning of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the country in September 2014, welcoming him upon his arrival and hosting a dinner in his honour for members of the Indian-American community.

Foreign Secretary (2015–2018)

Jaishankar was appointed foreign secretary of India on 29 January 2015. The announcement of his appointment was made following a 28 January 2015 meeting of the appointments committee of the cabinet

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