Lokesh Chandra new ICCR chief

Lokesh Chandra has been appointed the 17th president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) by President Pranab Mukherjee, an official release said Thursday.

Chandra would be the president for a period of three years with effect from Oct 27. He succeeds Karan Singh who demitted office on Aug 18, the release said.

Chandra also holds the position of honorary director of the International Academy of Indian Culture, a premier research institution for Asian cultures.

In the past, he has held several prestigious positions, including chairman of Indian Council for Historical Research, and vice president of the ICCR. He was been a Rajya Sabha member twice - 1974-80 and 1980-86.

Chandra was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2006 in recognition to his contributions to the academic life and public discourse.

His major life work is the study of cultural inter-flow between India and the countries of the world. Beginning with India's linguistic sharing with the Indo-European languages of the west, he has written on arts, histories and literature of the Buryatia in Siberia, as well as of Mongolia, Central Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia and Indonesia.