Abdul Sattar (diplomat)

Abdul Sattar
Abdul Sattar (left) conversing with Donald Rumsfeld (right)
Foreign Minister of Pakistan
In office 6 November 1999 – 14 June 2002
President	Pervez Musharraf
Preceded by	Sartaj Aziz
Succeeded by	Khurshid Kasuri
In office 23 July 1993 – 19 October 1993
President	Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Preceded by	General Yakub Khan
Succeeded by	Aseff Ali
Personal details
Born	Abdul Sattar
Citizenship	Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani

Abdul Sattar (/ˈɑːbdʊl səˈtɑːr/ AHB-duul sə-TAHR; Urdu: عبد الستار‎) is a veteran foreign service statesman, political scientist, diplomat, author of foreign policy, and nuclear strategist. Prior to be appointed as Foreign minister of Pakistan in two non–consecutive terms, Sattar briefly served in the Foreign ministry, first tenuring as Ambassador to Soviet Union and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He has authored several books on Foreign policy, and has won critical praise of his diplomatic skills and work. Quoted by India Today, Sattar is considered one of the shrewdest and cleverest foreign policy practitioners that Pakistan has ever produced.

Sattar started his career in foreign service in the late 1960s, first working closely with another statesman, Agha Shahi, on foreign service issues. He was one of the foreign service diplomat in assisting the implementation of the Simla Agreement in 1972. In 1975, he was appointed as ambassador to Austria till 1978, when his new assignment was posted in India. He was the High Commissioner to India until 1982; he was again appointed as High Commissioner to India in 1990 until his return to Pakistan in 1992. From 1986 to 1988, he served as the Foreign Secretary. In 1988, he was appointed Pakistan Ambassador to the USSR which he continued until 1990 when he was appointed Permanent Representative to the IAEA in Vienna, also the same year.