The highly feted diplomat with expertise in China and national security, Vikram Misri, assumed the office of Foreign Secretary of India on Monday. The 1989 cadre officer of the Indian Foreign Service, serving as the deputy national security advisor, succeeded the post held by Vinay Kwatra.
He assumes this position at a time when India is grappling with several geopolitical challenges, especially its relations with China that have come under severe strain due to the continuing border standoff in eastern Ladakh and the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war. Misri has widespread experience in the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister's Office, and various Indian missions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.
The distinction of having been the private secretary to three prime ministers — Inder Kumar Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi — rests with him singly. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed Misri on social media and hoped that his tenure would be productive.
Before he was posted as deputy NSA, Misri was the ambassador of India to China from 2019 to 2021. He handled tricky negotiations during mitigation against heightened tensions following the Galwan Valley clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in June 2020—a critical instance of military confrontation between the two nations.
During his illustrious career, he has also served as Ambassador to Spain (2014-2016) and Myanmar (2016-2018), besides serving in various Indian missions, which include Pakistan, the United States, Germany, Belgium, and Sri Lanka.
Born in Srinagar, Misri did his early schooling at Burn Hall School and the DAV School, besides Carmel Convent School, Udhampur. He did his matriculation from Scindia School in Gwalior and afterwards went on to get a Bachelor's with Honours in History from Hindu College under the University of Delhi and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Prior to entering government service, he spent three years in the private sector working on advertising and film-making.
Misri is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute USA's India Leadership Initiative (now known as the Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship). He was married to Dolly Misri (since deceased), and has two children.
According to the Sources, the central government is also mulling over the selection of India's next Ambassador to the US and Permanent Representative at United Nations headquarters in New York. According to sources, senior diplomat Vinay Kwatra is learnt to be the strong contender for the ambassadorial post in Washington that has remained vacant since the retirement of Taranjit Sandhu in January. The post of India's permanent representative to the UN is also lying vacant following the retirement of Ruchira Kamboj last month.
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