Lalit Mansingh

Lalit Mansingh (born 29 April 1941) is a former Indian diplomat. He was the Foreign Secretary of India from 1999 to 2000, and Indian Ambassador to the United States from 2001 to 2004. Prior to this, he was Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1998 to 99.[1] Lalit Mansingh is the son of Odia poet and educationist Mayadhar Mansingh.[2]

Lalit Mansingh
22nd Foreign Secretary of India
In office
1 December 1999 – 2001
Preceded byK. Raghunath
Succeeded byChokila Iyer
Personal details
Born (1941-04-29) 29 April 1941
Nandala, Puri district, Odisha, India
SpouseIndira
ChildrenTwo
ParentMayadhar Mansingh (father)
OccupationCivil Servant (Indian Foreign Service)

Early life and education

Mansingh was born and brought up in Odisha as the middle son of Odia poet Mayadhar Mansingh. He was born at Nandala, in Puri district of Odisha. He graduated with a master's degree in Political Science, receiving a gold medal for being top of the class. He was a Research scholar and Faculty for short period in American Studies Programme at the School of International Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was married to Odissi dancer Sonal Mansingh.[3] The couple is now divorced.

Career
Jaswant Singh, Donald Rumsfeld and Lalit Mansingh

Lalit Mansingh has remained a lecturer in the Post-Graduate Department of Political Science, Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.[4] He joined Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, in June 1963 and was the topper of his batch.[3] He became High Commissioner to Nigeria (1993–1995) and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1980–83) and in Nigeria with concurrent accreditation to Benin, Chad and The Cameroons. Apart from that he also served in various diplomatic capacities in Geneva, Afghanistan and Belgium.

He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, DC, 1989–1992 and remained the Dean of Foreign Service Institute, India, from 1995 to 1996.,[5] apart from serving as Director-General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs .

Mansingh is a member of an international group called the Non Official Group of Friends (NGF) of Sri Lanka which aims at assisting that country in its post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. He is part of a Track II dialogue between India and Pakistan focusing on confidence building measures between the two nuclear armed neighbors.

Other engagements – Overseas: Member, Board of Trustees, International Crisis Group, Brussels; Member, Asia Pacific Leadership Network, Canberra; Member, International Advisory Council, APCO Worldwide, Washington, D.C., and International Advisory Council Member in APCO Worldwide[4]

In India: Chairman World Cultural Forum India; President, India Strategic Forum, Vice President, Maha Bodhi Society of India; Chairman, Political Science Association, Ravenshaw University; Vice President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Prof Emeritus at the Foreign Service Institute of India; Member, Governing Body of Development Alternatives, New Delhi and Gram Vikas, Odisha.

He is also Diplomatic Advisor to the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Chairman, FICCI India-US Policy Group.

He was awarded the Kharavela Samman (Kharavela Award) by Odisha Governor in February 2009[6]

Speech and transcription

Further reading

See also

References
  1. Ambassador Lalit Mansingh Embassy of India, website.
  2. Mansingh, Lalit (22–23 September 2005). "Lalit Mansingh: Mayadhar Mansingh, Mayadhar Mansingh and the Beginning of Modernity in Indian Literature, '". Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2012. Archived 1 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "The art of diplomacy". The Indian Express. 31 October 1999. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. Lalit Mansingh APCO Worldwide.
  5. Deans of the Foreign Service Institute Foreign Service Institute, India (FSI) website.
  6. Orissa Governor conferred Kharavela award to Lalit Mansingh 2 February 2009. Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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