Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (born 9 January 1955) is an Indian retired diplomat who currently serves as the Minister of External Affairs of India since 2019. He is the longest-serving minister for external affairs to hold the portfolio exclusively. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he is a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. He previously served as the foreign secretary of India from 2015 to 2018. In January 2019, he was conferred with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour.
Jaishankar was born in 1955 in Delhi, in a Tamil Hindu family. He did his schooling in Delhi, and Bengaluru, and completed his bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He obtained his master's degree in political science and an M.Phil. and PhD in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Jaishankar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977, and during a diplomatic career spanning over 38 years, served in different capacities in India and abroad. He served as an ambassador to the Czech Republic (2001–2004), high commissioner to Singapore (2007–2009), ambassador to China (2009–2013), and the United States (2014–2015). From 2004 to 2007, he was the joint secretary (Americas) at the ministry of external affairs, and was one of the officials involved in the negotiation of the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement. After serving as the foreign secretary, he retired in 2018.
On retirement, Jaishankar served as president of global corporate affairs with the Tata Group briefly from 2018 to early 2019. In May 2019, he was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the second Modi ministry. He is first former foreign secretary of India to head the ministry of external affairs as cabinet minister. In June 2024, he was re-appointed to the post in the third Modi ministry after the BJP-led coalition won the 2024 Indian general elections. Jaishankar has crafted the assertive foreign policy with India-first. He emphasises national interest, strategic autonomy, freedom of choice and multi-vector diplomacy.
Early life and education Jaishankar was born on 9 January 1955 in Delhi, India, to a prominent Indian civil servant Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam and Sulochana Subrahmanyam. He was brought up in a Tamil Hindu family. He has a sister, Sudha Subrahmanyam, and two brothers: historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam and IAS officer S. Vijay Kumar, former rural development secretary of India.
Jaishankar did his schooling at The Air Force School, Delhi, and at the Bangalore Military School, Bangalore. He then did his bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He has an MA in political science and an M.Phil. and PhD in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy.C.Raja Mohan and S. Jaishankar, "Nuclear Cartelisation Theory and Practice" , Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 12, No. 20, 14 May 1977.
Diplomatic career (1979–2018) After joining the IFS in 1977, Jaishankar served as third secretary and second secretary in the Indian mission to the Soviet Union in Moscow from 1979 to 1981. He returned to New Delhi, where he worked as a special assistant to diplomat Gopalaswami Parthasarathy and as undersecretary in the Americas division of India's ministry of external affairs, dealing with United States. He was part of the team that resolved the dispute over the supply of US nuclear fuel to the Tarapur Power Station in India. From 1985 to 1988, he was the first secretary at the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C.
From 1988 to 1990, he served in Sri Lanka as first secretary and political adviser to the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF). From 1990 to 1993, he was counsellor (commercial) at the Indian mission in Budapest. Returning to New Delhi, he served as director (East Europe) in the ministry of external affairs and as press secretary and speechwriter for Shankar Dayal Sharma, then president of India.
Jaishankar was then deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Tokyo from 1996 to 2000. This period saw a downturn in India–Japan relations following India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests as well as a recovery after a visit to India by then Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori.Japan-India Relations (Basic Data), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, November 2012. Jaishankar is reported to have helped introduce future Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe to Manmohan Singh.The importance of Shinzo Abe, The Hindu, 19 December 2012. In 2000, he was appointed India's ambassador to the Czech Republic.
From 2004 to 2007, Jaishankar was joint secretary (Americas) at the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi. In this capacity, he was involved in negotiating the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement and improving defence cooperation, including during relief operations following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.'No too many holes in Indo-US nuke deal' ,The Hindu, 26 June 2007. Jaishankar was also involved with the conclusion of the 2005 New Defense FrameworkIndia-US Defense Relations, Embassy of India – Washington D.C., 28 June 2005. and the Open Skies Agreement,U.S.-India Open Skies Agreement, U.S. Department of State, 14 April 2005. and he was associated with the launch of the India–United States Energy Dialogue, the India-United States Economic Dialogue, and the India-United States CEO's Forum.The US-India Economic Dialogue , Indo-US Science & Technology Forum, 2 March 2006. In 2006–2007, Jaishankar led the Indian team during the negotiations on the 123 Agreement with the United States.US-India nuke deal: 1.. 2 ..3..go, Times of India, 22 July 2007. He also represented the Indian government at the Carnegie Endowment International Non-proliferation Conference in June 2007.N-deal's not an arms control agreement: India, Rediff News, 26 June 2007.
Jaishankar was one of those considered for the post of India's foreign secretary in 2013 but lost out to Sujatha Singh, who became the third woman to serve in the post.Jaishankar is PM's Choice for Foreign Secy Post,Times of India, 10 June 2013.Interview with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid , The Straits Times, 5 July 2013.
High Commissioner to Singapore From 2007 to 2009, Jaishankar served as India's high commissioner to Singapore. During his tenure, he helped implement the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that expanded India's business presence in Singapore,Singapore all set to attract skilled Indians, The Economic Times, 16 November 2007. and oversaw a defence arrangement by which Singapore keeps some of its military equipment in India on a permanent basis.India and Singapore sign defence cooperation pact, 10 October 2007. Jaishankar also promoted the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas,Pravasi Bharatiya Divas kicks off in Singapore, The Hindu Business Line, 10 October 2008. and IIMPactIndian professionals hailed as alternative global voices, The Hindu, 22 April 2008. in Singapore.
Ambassador to China
Jaishankar was India's longest-serving ambassador to China, with a four-and-a-half-year term. In Beijing, Jaishankar was involved in improving economic, trade and cultural relations between China and India, and in managing the Sino-Indian border dispute.India's relationship with China expanding substantively: S. Jaishankar, The Business Standard, 20 May 2013.Disturbance of Peace at Border Can Vitiate Ties: India to China,The Economic Times, 21 August 2013.
Jaishankar's tenure as India's ambassador to China coincided with several major developments in relations between the two countries.Jaishankar moving to U.S. after eventful tenure in China, The Hindu, 13 December 2013. His 2010 briefing to the Indian cabinet committee on security regarding China's refusal to issue a visa to the head of the Indian Army's Northern Command led to a suspension of Indian defence co-operation with China, before the situation was resolved in April 2011.PLA Presence in PoK Worries India,The Economic Times, 4 September 2010. Also in 2010, Jaishankar negotiated an end to the Chinese policy of issuing stapled visas to Indians from Jammu and Kashmir. In 2012, in response to Chinese passports showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as parts of China, he ordered visas issued to Chinese nationals showing those territories as parts of India. In May 2013, he negotiated the end of a stand-off resulting from the encampment by China's People's Liberation Army on Ladakh's Depsang Plains, threatening to cancel Premier Li Keqiang's scheduled visit to India if Chinese forces did not withdraw.Ranjit Bhushan and Manak Singh,The Inscrutables , The Sunday Indian, 2 June 2013.
Jaishankar advocated deeper Indian cooperation with China as long as India's "core interests" were respected,S. Jaishankar, India and China: Fifty Years Later, ISAS Special Reports, Institute of South Asian Studies , 23 November 2012. and argued for better market access for Indian businesses operating in China on the grounds that more balanced trade was necessary for the bilateral economic relationship to be sustainable.'Self-interest key to India-China ties' , The Hindustan Times, 4 September 2009. He was also involved in improving people-to-people contacts between India and China, promoting events that showcased Indian culture in 30 Chinese cities.Selina Sun and William Wang, Interview of Ambassador of India to China, Dr. S. Jaishankar , China Report, 4 September 2009.
Ambassador to the United States
Jaishankar was appointed India's ambassador to the United States in September 2013. He took charge on 23 December 2013, succeeding Nirupama Rao. He arrived in the United States amid the Devyani Khobragade incident, and was involved in negotiating the Indian diplomat's departure from the country. On 29 January 2014, Jaishankar addressed the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he argued that "the grand strategy underwriting [Indian-American] ties is fundamentally sound" but that ties suffered from a "problem of sentiment."
On 10 March 2014, he formally presented his credentials to US President Barack Obama at the Oval Office. Jaishankar was involved in the planning of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to the country in September 2014, welcoming him upon his arrival and hosting a dinner in his honour for members of the Indian-American community.
Foreign Secretary (2015–2018) Jaishankar was appointed foreign secretary of India on 29 January 2015. The announcement of his appointment was made following a 28 January 2015 meeting of the appointments committee of the cabinet chaired by the Modi.ACC Appointment, Press Information Bureau, 29 January 2015.S Jaishankar, is the new foreign secretary, Hindustan Times, 29 January 2015. His tenure extension of one year saw a transformation in the working of the ministry of external affairs. His appointment came three days before the date on which he would ordinarily have retired and meant the unprecedented termination of Sujatha Singh's two-year tenure as foreign secretary. Singh was offered a sinecure as compensation but preferred to resign from government service. Jaishankar is widely criticised by Nepalese analysts for being the "original planner of 2015 Nepal blockade." His tenure expired in January 2018.
Corporate career (2018-19) After his retirement from his position as the foreign secretary in 2018, Jaishankar joined the Tata Group as president of global corporate affairs.
Minister of External Affairs (2019–present)