Satinder Kumar Lambah (16 July 1941 – 30 June 2022), also known as Sati Lambah, was an Indian

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

of 1964 batch of Indian Foreign Service cadre who served as the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

's Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan between 2005 and 2014. He is also known for building a Strategic partnership agreement with Russia when he was an envoy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

between 1998 and 2001. Satinder Lambah was honoured with the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

for promoting

Germany–India relations Bilateral relations between the Republic of India and Germany have been traditionally strong due to commercial, cultural and technological co-operation. History During World War I, India was a part of the British Crown. Consequently, the Brit ...

in December 2015.

Early life

He was born in 1941 in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(present-day in Pakistan).

Career

He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1964. He spent more than four decades in a diplomatic career, working in several Indian missions worldwide. He has served as the Ambassador of India to Hungary from 1986 to 1989,

High Commissioner of India High commissioners represent India's diplomatic missions in member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and ambassadors represent diplomatic missions in other states. The head of a diplomatic mission to an international organization is called a pe ...

to Pakistan from 1992 to 1995 and Ambassador of India to Germany from 1995 to 1998. From 1989 to 1991, he was the Consul General of India in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, USA. He has also held the post of India's Deputy High Commissioner (1978–81) and High Commissioner (1992–95) to Pakistan and also served as the Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran). While serving as the Ambassador of India to Hungary, Satinder K Lambah played an important role in the first export of an Indian car, Maruti to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In 2001, he played a key role in Indian investments in the Russian oil field

Sakhalin-I The Sakhalin-I (russian: Сахалин-1) project, a sister project to Sakhalin-II, is a consortium for production of oil and gas on Sakhalin Island and immediately offshore. It operates three fields in the Okhotsk Sea: Chayvo, Odoptu and Arkut ...

. He was appointed the Deputy Secretary-General of the

7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Seventh Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement on 7–12 March 1983 took place in New Delhi in India, one of the founders and leading members of the Non-Aligned Movement. The summit followed the 1979 summi ...

, which was held in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

in March 1983. Later, he was the Coordinator of the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of go ...

in India. His specialization has been in

economic diplomacy Economic diplomacy is a form of diplomacy that uses the full spectrum of economic tools of a state to achieve its national interests. The scope of economic diplomacy can encompass all of the international economic activities of a state, including, ...

and dealing with neighbouring countries of India. He helped in setting up the Indian Embassy in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

after the

Liberation of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

from Pakistan. In August 2001, he retired from the Indian Foreign Service. After retirement, Satinder K Lambah chaired a Committee on the Reorganization of the Ministry of External Affairs and India's Missions Abroad. From November 2001 to July 2002, he served as the India's special envoy for Afghanistan. He was the Convener of the

National Security Advisory Board The National Security Council (NSC) (IAST: ''Rāṣṭrīya Surakṣā Pariṣad'') of India is an executive government agency tasked with advising the Prime Minister's Office on matters of national security and strategic interest. It was est ...

(NSAB)

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

from 2004 to 2005. During 2011–12, he was co-chairman of the Task Force on National Security. In 2011, he was appointed the co-chairman of the Task Force on National Security, where he held office until 2012. In August 2015, he was elected as the chairman of the Ananta Aspen Centre, a not-for-profit think tank.

Honours

(2015)

Death

He died on 30 June 2022 at the age of 80 in

References

External links

“India Does Not Need Anyone To Give It An Afghan Role. It Has One By Virtue Of Its History.”
with '' Outlook India''
Manmohan Singh bequeathed a larger legacy than he inherited for a settlement on Kashmir: Satinder Lambah
with ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...

''
Pakistan, India came close to ink Kashmir accord in 2007: Ex-envoy
at ''

Geo TV Geo Television Network is a television channel based in Pakistan. It was established in May 2002 and is owned by the Jang Media Group. The channel began its test transmission on 14 August 2002, with regular transmission beginning on 1 October 2 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambah, Satinder 1941 births 2022 deaths Indian Foreign Service officers High Commissioners of India to Pakistan Ambassadors of India to Hungary Ambassadors of India to Germany Ambassadors of India to Russia Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Peshawar