Natwar Singh
This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Natwar Singh" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2007) |
Minister of External Affairs | |
---|---|
In office 22 May 2004 – 6 December 2005 | |
Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
Preceded by | Yashwant Sinha |
Succeeded by | Manmohan Singh |
Minister without portfolio | |
In office 8 December 2005 – 22 May 2009 | |
Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
Preceded by | Mamata Banerjee |
Succeeded by | Arun Jaitley |
Personal details | |
Born | Jaghina, Bharatpur, Bharatpur State, British Raj (present-day Rajasthan, India) | 16 May 1929
Political party | Indian National Congress (1984-2006) |
Spouse | Heminder Kaur |
Children | Jagat Singh Ritu Kaur |
Residence | New Delhi |
Alma mater | Mayo College, Ajmer St. Stephen's College, Delhi Scindia School |
Occupation | Politician |
Awards | Padma Bhushan |
Signature | |
Kunwar Natwar Singh, IFS (born 16 May 1929) is an Indian diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of External Affairs from May 2004 to December 2005.
Singh was selected into the
Early life and education
The fourth son of Govind Singh and his wife Prayag Kaur of village 'Jagheena', Singh was born in the
Diplomatic career
Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1953 and served for 31 years. One of his earliest assignments was in Beijing, China (1956–58). He was then posted to New York City at the Permanent Mission of India (1961–66) and as India's representative to executive board of UNICEF (1962–66). He served on several UN committees between 1963 and 1966. In 1966, he was posted to the Prime Minister's Secretariat under Indira Gandhi. He served as India's Ambassador to Poland from 1971 to 1973, India's Deputy High Commissioner to U.K. from 1973 to 1977 and India's Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 to 1982.[4] He was part of the Indian delegation to the Heads of Commonwealth Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica in 1975. He was an Indian Delegate to the 30th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York, Heads of Commonwealth Meeting, Lusaka, Zambia in 1979 and the 35th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, New York. He also accompanied Indira Gandhi on her State visit to the US in 1982. He served as an Executive Trustee, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) appointed by the Secretary-General, United Nations for six years (1981–86). He also served on the Expert Group appointed by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, London in 1982. He was appointed Secretary-General of the Seventh Non-aligned Summit in New Delhi held in 1983 and Chief Coordinator of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in New Delhi in the same year. He served as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from March 1982 to November 1984. He received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India from the Government of India, in 1984.[5]
Political career
In 1984, after resigning from the
Singh remained a minister of state for external affairs until the Congress party lost power after being defeated in the general elections of 1989. In those elections, he contested and lost the
Singh was rewarded with a ticket to contest the general elections of 1998, and returned to parliament after a gap of nine years, when he was elected to the
Oil for Food scandal
Singh assumed office on 23 May 2004 as India's minister for external affairs. On 27 October 2005, while Singh was abroad on an official visit, the
On 26 March 2006, the
Natwar Singh then resigned from the Congress party. He announced his resignation at a
Singh did not, however, join the BJP. Instead, in mid-2008, both Singh and his son Jagat joined Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party,[10] only to be expelled by that party within four months (in November 2008) for alleged indiscipline, anti-party activities and "lack of faith" in the ideology of the Bahujan Samaj Movement. In fact, Singh had been demanding a Rajya Sabha seat (which had apparently been promised before he joined the party) and Mayawati had changed her mind on that matter.[11]
Personal life
In August 1967, Singh married Maharajkumari Heminder Kaur (born June 1939), the eldest daughter of the last Maharaja of
Autobiography
In August 2014, Singh's autobiography,
Books published
- E.M.Forster : A Tribute (on Forster's Eighty Fifth Birthday), editor, with Contributions by Ahmed Ali, Narayana Menon, Raja Rao & Santha Rama Rau, New York, 1964
- The Legacy of Nehru: A Memorial Tribute, New York, 1965[16]
- Tales from Modern India, New York, 1966
- Stories from India, London, 1971
- Maharaja Suraj Mal, 1707-63: His Life and Times, London, 1981[17]
- Curtain Raisers, Delhi, 1984
- Profiles & Letters, Delhi, 1997
- The Magnificent Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala (1891–1938), Delhi, 1997
- Heart to Heart, Delhi, 2003.
- Yours Sincerely, December 2009.[18]
- Walking with Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past, Released by Hamid Ansari, March 2013.
- One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography,[13]August 2014.
- Treasured Epistles, August 2018.[19]
See also
References
- ^ "Volcker Report names Natwar Singh and Congress Party as "beneficiaries"". The Hindu. 29 October 2005. Archived from the original on 31 October 2005.
- ^ India Today
- ^ "K Natwar Singh: External Affairs Minister". Hindustan Times. 18 June 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Biographical Sketch Member of Parliament 12th Lok Sabha".
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "Volcker Report names Natwar Singh and his family as "beneficiaries"". The Hindu. 29 October 2005. Archived from the original on 31 October 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ Singh, Onkar (6 December 2005). "Natwar Singh resigns from Union Cabinet". rediff News. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ Thakur, Pradeep (26 March 2006). "Oil-for-food: ED traces Rs 8-cr to Delhi bank". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Home " Nation Natwar Singh quits Congress". Zee News. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Natwar Singh to join BSP". Hindustan Times. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ "Mayawati has no courtesy: Natwar Singh". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ Staff, The Dispatch (16 May 2020). "K Natwar Singh and his life of revelations - about him, by him". The Dispatch. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ a b "One Life is Not Enough": Natwar Singh's autobiography to rock the capital – The Hindu
- ^ Inside Track: Kissa kursi ka | The Indian Express | Page 99
- ^ Sonia Gandhi reacts to Natwar Singh's claims; says will write a book to 'reveal the truth' – Economic Times
- S2CID 163577874.
- ISSN 1044-8977. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ISBN 978-9353041564.
- ^ Singh, K. Natwar (27 July 2013). "A diplomat's diary". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 May 2020.