Meera Shankar (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Yadav) served as India's Ambassador to the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

from 26 April 2009 to 2011. She was India's second female ambassador to the United States of America, Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit being the first. She was succeeded by

Nirupama Rao Nirupama Menon Rao (born 6 December 1950) is a retired civil servant of 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service cadre who served as India's Foreign Secretary from 2009 to 2011, as well as being India's Ambassador to the United States, China and Sri Lan ...

on 1 August 2011. Shankar, an officer of the 1973 batch, was posted in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, from 1991 to 1995. She succeeded Ambassador

Ronen Sen Ranendra "Ronen" Sen (born 9 April 1944) is an Indian diplomat who was India's ambassador to the United States of America from August 2004 to March 2009. His contribution to the landmark US India Nuclear Deal of 2005 is considered of immense ...

Early life and career

Meera Shankar studied at St. Mary's Convent in

Nainital Nainital (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a town and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand High Court, High Court of the state being ...

and then graduated from

St. Bede's College, Shimla St. Bede's College is a women's college in Navbahar, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. The college was originally established as a teacher's training institute in 1904 by the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Today, it offers courses in Arts, Comme ...

and joined the

Indian Foreign Service The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a Central Civil Services, central civil service of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India under the Ministry of External Affairs (India), Ministry of External A ...

in 1973. Shankar served as Director in the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

’s Office from 1985 to 1991, and in the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

from 1991 to 1995. While serving in the Ministry of External Affairs, she headed two important divisions dealing with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and relations with

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. Prior to 2009, she served as India's Ambassador in Berlin, Germany. Shankar was the first serving diplomat to be posted in Washington in more than two decades after G.Shankar Bajpai. In 2003, she achieved the rank of Additional Secretary, she held the responsibility for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and International Security.

Other activities

Shankar sits on the Board of Trustees of the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

. In 2012 she became the first woman on the board of directors of the Indian conglomerate ITC.

Personal life

Shankar is married to Ajay Shankar, IAS officer of the 1973 batch. They have a daughter, Priya.

Controversies

Shankar was in the news after she went through a pat-down check at Jackson–Evers airport in December 2010, joining the list of Indian VIPs who underwent frisking or quizzing at US airports. The incident led to diplomatic protests from India.

References

External links