Kanwal Sibal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 24th Foreign Secretary of India | |
| In office 12 March 2001 –29 June 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Preceded by | Chokila Iyer |
| Succeeded by | Shashank |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 November 1943 |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Kanwal Sibal (born 18 November 1943) is a career diplomat who retired as Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. In 2017,The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri award for his distinguished services in the field of Public Affairs. [1] [2]
He was born on 18 November 1943 to noted Lawyer Hira Lall Sibal,Padma Bhushan awardee.
He graduated with an MA in English from Punjab University. Dr. Kanwal Sibal later graduated from the World Information Distributed University with the scientific degree of International Doctor of Philosophy and the scientific degree of Grand Doctor of Philosophy,in June 2006. Dr. Kanwal Sibal is the First Grand Doctor of Philosophy in India. He received the title of Full Professor from the European Academy of Informatization and the World Information Distributed University-WIDU. [3]
He was appointed to the Indian Foreign Service in July 1966.
He served in Paris (August 1968 to July 1973),Dar es Salaam (August 1976 to October 1979),Lisbon (February 1980 to July 1982),and Kathmandu (July 1982 to September 1985). Dr. Sibal also served as Joint Secretary (Administration/West Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India from January 1986 to April 1989,the Ambassador of India to Turkey (April 1989 to July 1992),the Deputy Chief of Mission,Embassy of India,Washington (August 1992 to September 1995),the Ambassador of India to Egypt (September 1995 to March 1998),the Ambassador of India to France (March 1998 to June 2002) and Ambassador to Russia (2004 to 2007). [4]
During Sibal's tenure as Ambassador of India to France in 1999,a diplomat at the embassy,Amrit Lugun,was accused by his family's live-in servant,Lalita Oraon,of sexual abuse after she had escaped from Lugun's household. [5] The French media and public was horrified to learn that Oraon had suffered "knife wounds,three to 6cm deep,all around the vagina" and the injuries were "consistent with an act of torture or deliberate mutilation" according to the description of an examining doctor to French media. [5] [6] In the face of pressure on bilateral ties,Sibal continued to support Lugun and refused to remove him pending any probe. [5] [7] When the Ministry of External Affairs attempted to send an Additional Secretary level official for further enquiry,an "enraged" Sibal complained to the Prime Minister's Office and had the investigation cancelled. India Today noted there was a "political colour" to Sibal's actions as his brother Kapil was a "high-profile Congress spokesman and Lugun's mother-in-law Sushila Kerketta a Congress MLA." [6]
He was a member of India's National Security Advisory Board from November 2008 to November 2010. [8]
In 2023,he became the chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. [9]
Kanwal Sibal's father was H.L. Sibal,a renowned advocate who was rendered homeless along with his entire family during partition. In 1994,H.L. Sibal was named a "Living Legend of the Law" by the International Bar Association and in 2006.
Indian National Congress politician and former Cabinet Minister Kapil Sibal is Kanwal's younger brother. Virender Sibal,Jitendar Sibal (both retired IAS officers) and Ms. Asha Nanda are his other siblings. [10]
Jyotindra Nath Dixit was an Indian diplomat,who served as Foreign Secretary (1991–1994),the top bureaucrat in the Ministry of External Affairs. At the time of his death,he was the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is mostly remembered for his role as a negotiator in disputes with Pakistan and China.
Kapil Sibal is an Indian lawyer and politician. A designated Senior Advocate,and currently the President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). He has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is a Member of Parliament,in Rajya Sabha.
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a 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. Vikram Misri is the 35th and the current Foreign Secretary.
Nawab Ali Yavar Jung Bahadur was an Indian diplomat. He served as Indian Ambassador in Argentina,Egypt,Yugoslavia and Greece,France,and the United States.
Abid Hussain was an Indian economist,civil servant and diplomat. He was India's ambassador to the United States of America from 1990 to 1992 and a member of the Planning Commission from 1985 to 1990.
Shivshankar Menon is an Indian diplomat,who served as National Security Adviser of India under Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. He had previously served as the Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Prior to that he was Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan,and Sri Lanka and ambassador to China and Israel. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress. He is also Visiting Professor of International Relations at Ashoka University.
K.B. Lall,ICS (1917–2005) was an eminent civil servant of India and a member of ICS. He was Defence Secretary of India during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. Earlier,he served as Commerce Secretary as well as Ambassador to the European Common Market,as the European Union was then known.
Brajesh Chandra Mishra was an Indian diplomat from the Indian Foreign Service and politician,best known for serving as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's principal secretary and India's first National Security Advisor from 1998 to 2004. He received Padma Vibhushan for his contributions.
The Punjab Ratan Award,is a type of award given by the Government of Punjab for exceptional excellence and achievement in the service of Punjab or at an international level. The award is given to deserving awardees in the field of art,literature,culture,science,technology,and politics. The award consists of the Punjab Rattan Award itself,Punjabi silver plaque and a Punjab Rattan Award citation. In Punjab,the prestigious award is considered to be as prized and valued as the much sought-after Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award.
University College,Thiruvananthapuram,often abbreviated as UCT,is a public college situated in Palayam,Thiruvananthapuram,India. Established in 1866,it is one of the oldest colleges in Kerala. The college has been accorded "College with Potential for Excellence" (CPE) status by the University Grants Commission. University College is identified as a heritage institution by the Government of Kerala.
Kewal Singh Choudhary (1915–1991) was an Indian diplomat,Foreign Secretary and India's ambassador to the USSR,Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and USA. He was a 1955 recipient of the Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri.
Monika Kapil Mohta is a diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service,who served as the Ambassador of India to Switzerland since August 2020. She holds the rank of Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and was previously the Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia and the Ambassador of India to Poland and Lithuania.
Amrit Lugun is a retired IFS officer,who served as the Ambassador of India to Greece.
Krishna Gopal Saxena (1912–2003) was an Indian homoeopathic physician. Born on 25 September 1912 in Delhi,he did his schooling at Karachi and Ambala and graduated in homoeopathic medicine from the Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College.
Rajeshwar Dayal was an Indian diplomat,writer,Ambassador of India to the former state of Yugoslavia and the Head of the United Nations Operation in the Congo.
Hira Lal Sibal was an Indian lawyer,jurist and two-time Advocate General of Punjab and Haryana,known for his legal defence of cases against the noted Urdu writers,Ismat Chugtai and Saadat Hasan Manto in 1945. He practised at Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India.
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta was an Indian civil servant,diplomat and writer who served as Indian ambassador to the European Union,Belgium,Luxembourg and China.
Alexander Mikhailovich Kadakin was a Russian diplomat and the Russian Ambassador to India from 2009 until his death in 2017. Kadakin had earlier served as the ambassador to India between 1999 and 2004. He was a noted Indophile. Kadakin died from heart failure while in service in New Delhi in 2017. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2018.
