Ranjan Mathai is new foreign secretary

He’s quiet, low profile and uncontroversial. Ranjan Mathai, India’s ambassador to France was today appointed Foreign Secretary. Mathai will succeed Nirupama Rao who has earlier been named India’s ambassador to the US.

A 1974-batch IFS officer (Rao is a batch senior), 59-year-old Mathai will assume charge on 1 August and will have a two-year term, official spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said. He will occupy the top post at a time when India’s relations with Pakistan are gradually getting back on track and its strategic partnership with the US has reached new heights.

There are six officers in Mathai’s 1974 batch, but he is the seniormost. One of them is Hardeep Puri, India’s permanent representative in the United nations. Puri has been retained in the UN to ensure a degree of continuity.

 

Mathai’s appointment is part of the government’s move after the unsavoury controversy that accompanied the appointment of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), who, once appointed, refused to go when charged with corruption and fought a long court battle to keep his position, embarrassing the government. Like Cabinet secretary Ajit K Seth, mathai has had a brilliant career and is regarded highly competent and straight forward by his colleagues. his appointment has ruffled no feathers in terms of seniority.

Mathai, who did his MA in Political science from Pune University, has served in Indian missions in Vienna, Colombo, Washington, Tehran and Brussels. As Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi between January 1995 to February 1998, he headed the division dealing with India’s relations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives. He also served as Indian Ambassador to Israel from February 1998 to June 2001 and Qatar from August 2001 to July 2005. He was Deputy High Commissioner in India’s mission in the UK from August 2005 to January 2007.