27 Dec 2009 | India
Nirupama Rao: next foreign secretary
SS Menon may be accommodated in the PMO as special advisor to PM in relation to Pakistan and China
Hardnews Bureau
Nirupama Rao, currently India's envoy to Beijing, is all set to succeed Shivshankar Menon as the next foreign secretary. She will be the second woman to take charge of the foreign office after Chokila Aiyer (1964 batch) when she takes charge on August 1.
Although there was no official word yet, reports indicate that Menon may be accommodated in the PMO as special advisor to PM in relation to Pakistan and China, although he seems reluctant. Menon, who will retire on July 31, will participate in Indo-Pak secretary level talks in Egypt as one of his last big assignments.
Before her appointment as the ambassador to China in October 2006, Rao, 58, has served as a high commissioner to Sri Lanka, besides serving in Peru, Washington and Moscow in different capacities. She has served in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) from 1984 to 1992 in the East Asian division. She was the first woman to be appointed the spokesperson of MEA in 2001.
A fellow of the Centre for International Affairs at the Harvard University from 1992 to 1993, Rao has a masters degree in English literature. A singer in her own right, she likes Hindustani, Carnatic and Western music. Her anthology of poems Rain Rising was published in 2004.
The diplomat designate has many challenges ahead. Rao's mettle will be tested in handling the delicate Indo-Pak relations, besides furthering India's interests with the Obama administration. She will be at the helm at least for 17 months when she turns 60.
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