Samar Sen (10 August 1914 16 February 2003) was an Indian diplomat who served as the 1st

permanent representative of India to the United Nations The permanent representative of India to the United Nations is India's foremost diplomat, diplomatic representative to the United Nations. The permanent representative (UN ambassador)"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United ...

, Geneva, 8th in New York and the 2nd high commissioner of India to Bangladesh from June 1974 to November 1976. Born in

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(in modern-day Dhaka, Bangladesh), Sen obtained his education from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. He was a civil services officer who served as a

president of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the fifteen member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the president ...

from 1972 to 73.

Career

Sen served in the

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

at various posts, including

under secretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

, and deputy secretary. From 1946 to 48, he represented India at the United Nations as a liaison officer. He also served as chairperson of the

International Commission of Control and Supervision The International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) was an international monitoring force created on 27 January 1973. It was formed, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords ("Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peac ...

besides serving as ambassador to Algeria and Lebanon, and high commissioner to Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan. In the Government of India, he also served as joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 1957 to 1959. During his foreign services, he served as president of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal and chairperson of the G77.

Assassination attempt

Following the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

and

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

, he was reportedly a target of an assassination attempt in November 1975. He received several injuries and then remained India's high commissioner for the next year until he was appointed as high commissioner to Pakistan. He suffered a broken shoulder bone, but the bullet was removed after a surgery in Dhaka hospital. During retaliation his security guards killed four of the six attackers. The attackers posed as his visitors in a civilian clothes. An

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

plane was sent but he chose to remain in Dhaka and continued as India's high commissioner there for the next year

Career

Assassination attempt

References

Further reading