M A I N   N E W S

Ranjan Mathai next Foreign Secretary
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

A 1974-batch IFS officer, Mathai will assume charge on August 1, succeeding Nirupama Rao, and will be there for a term of two years, an official announcement today said after his appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). It was apparently a toss-up between Mathai and Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, who also belongs to the 1974 batch, but is junior to Mathai in service. The government went strictly by seniority in naming the unassuming and low-profile Mathai as the country’s top diplomat.

Puri, it is understood, might be given extension in New York for giving a boost to India’s campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. There is also a whisper in the South Block that the government overlooked Puri’s claim to the Foreign Secretary’s post due to his perceived proximity to the NDA leadership. Puri’s wife, Lakshmi was also an IFS officer of the 1974 batch until she resigned earlier this year following her appointment as the Assistant Secretary General for Inter-Governmental Support and Strategic Partnership for UN Women.

Some media reports had suggested that India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal had also joined the race for the Foreign Secretary’s job because of his deft handling of the sensitive relationship with Islamabad and playing a crucial role in the revival of the Indo-Pak dialogue.

Born on May 24, 1952, Mathai completed his postgraduation in political science from the University of Poona before joining the IFS. He served in different capacities at the Indian missions in Vienna, Colombo, Washington, Tehran and Brussels. He also served in the External Affairs Ministry. In February 1998, Mathai was appointed India’s Ambassador to Israel where he served till June 2001. He was the envoy to Qatar from August 2001 to July 2005. He was appointed India’s Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in August 2005.

Since January 2007, he has been serving the country as India’s envoy in Paris. He is married to Geeta and has two daughters.