VAdm Satish Soni exchanges a momento with the High Commissioner of India

Navdeep Suri (born 1959) is a retired

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n diplomat completing 36 years in 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 ...

, having served in India's diplomatic missions in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

and London and as India's Consul General in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. He has also headed the West Africa and Public Diplomacy departments at the Ministry of External Affairs. He was India's High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. The President of UAE conferred on him the

Order of Zayed The Order of Zayed () is the United Arab Emirates' highest civil decoration named after the first president of the UAE, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The Order is a necklace made of pure gold, featuring an elaborate design that reflects luxury a ...

II, the country's second-highest civilian award. His innovative use of social media in public diplomacy in 2010 also received extensive recognition and two prestigious awards. Suri has learnt Arabic and French, has a master's degree in Economics and has written on India's Africa policy, on Public Diplomacy and on the IT outsourcing industry. His English translations of his grandfather

Nanak Singh Nanak Singh, (b. 4 July 1897 as Hans Raj – 28 December 1971), was an Indian poet, songwriter, and novelist of the Punjabi language. His literary works in support of India's independence movement led the British to arrest him. He published nov ...

's classic Punjabi novels have been published by Penguin as ''The Watchmaker'' and by HarperCollins as ''A Life Incomplete'' and ''Khooni Vaisakhi''.

Early life and background

Suri was born in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

in the north Indian state of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in 1959. He is the grandson of acclaimed

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

novelist and poet

. His father Kulwant Singh runs a reputed publishing house in Amritsar and his mother Attarjit has taught

Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

to college students. He did his schooling from St. Francis School. He then completed his master's degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Guru Nanak Dev University Guru Nanak Dev University is a Public State University in Amritsar, India. It also offers many higher studies degree courses online. The university's campus is spread over . Campus Guru Nanak Dev University campus is spread over 500 acres (2 ...

Career

Early diplomatic career

Suri joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983 and has served in India's diplomatic missions in

Washington DC 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, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and as India's Consul General in

Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs

He has later headed the West Africa and Public Diplomacy divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs at

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

as a Joint Secretary. His tenure as Joint Secretary of Public Diplomacy divisions is particularly distinguished for his effort to create MEA's improved interaction with citizens through use of social media platforms and Internet.

Ambassador to Egypt

Suri's stint as Indian Ambassador to Egypt started in June 2012. As the Ambassador to Egypt his major challenge was a successful March 2013 state Visit of Egypt's President

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012

High Commissioner to Australia

On 26 February 2015, Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced its decision to appoint Suri as India's next High Commissioner to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, through a press brief. In April 2015, Suri arrived in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, Australia.

Wage theft

In November 2023, the Federal Court of Australia ordered Suri to pay a former housekeeper in Canberra $136,276.62 plus interest. This was due to Suri breaching employment conditions under Australian law. In March 2024, the Court further ordered Suri pay the housekeeper a pecuniary penalty of $97,200, after finding the housekeeper had endured “slave-like conditions” which included that “her passport was taken from her, she worked seven days a week, was never permitted to take leave and was only allowed outside the house for brief periods a day when looking after Mr Suri’s dog”.

Awards and decorations

Foreign honours

*: ** First Class of the Order of Zayed II (12 September 2019)

Personal life

Suri is married to Mani, who has a degree in Economics and is a graphic designer and potter. The couple have two daughters.

Works

Suri has translated three of his grandfather Nanak Singh's classical Punjabi novels to English. * Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). ''Saintly Sinner''. A 'n' B Publishers, 2003. * Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). ''The Watchmaker''. Penguin India, 2009. * Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). ''A Life Incomplete''. HarperCollins India, 2012. * Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). ''Khooni Vaisakhi: A Poem from the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919''. Harper Perennial, 2019.

References

External links

The High Commission of India in Australia
Official website.

Ambassador's Official Blog
Embassy of India in

{{DEFAULTSORT:SURI, NAVDEEP Living people 1959 births Ambassadors of India to the United Arab Emirates High commissioners of India to Australia Ambassadors of India to Egypt Indian Foreign Service officers