A career diplomat, Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad in the course of a diplomatic career spanning 35 years
Indian ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla has been appointed as Foreign Secretary, the government said on Monday.
According to a Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) order issued on Monday, he will take over as Foreign Secretary from Vijay Gokhale on January 29, 2020.
Gokhale’s “two-year term” ends on January 28.
Shringla, a 1984-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is credited with successfully organising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in September 2019. Among many engagements of the Prime Minister, his ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Texas.
The DoPT order said that the appointment has been cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Before being appointed as Indian envoy to the US, Shringla served as High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Ambassador Shringla assumed charge as Ambassador to the United States on January 9, 2019.
A career diplomat, Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad in the course of a diplomatic career spanning 35 years. He has served as High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh and Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand.
He has also served in France (UNESCO); USA (UN, New York); Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City); Israel and South Africa (Durban).
He also served as Joint Secretary (Director General) responsible for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Ambassador Shringla graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University and has worked in the Corporate and Public Sectors in India prior to joining the Indian Foreign Service. Shringla speaks French, Vietnamese and Nepalese apart from English and Indian languages, his profile on Indian Embassy in the US says.
He has pursued courses and published papers on conflict prevention, economic diplomacy, the Indian diaspora and India-Bangladesh relations, it says.