Nirupama Rao
| Nirupama Rao | |
|---|---|
Nirupama Rao in 2010
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| Indian Ambassador to the United States | |
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In office 1 August 2011 – 5 November 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Meera Shankar |
| Succeeded by | S Jaishankar |
| 28th Foreign Secretary of India | |
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In office 1 August 2009 – 31 July 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Shivshankar Menon |
| Succeeded by | Ranjan Mathai |
| Indian Ambassador to China | |
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In office 1 November 2006 – 31 July 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Nalin Surie |
| Succeeded by | S Jaishankar |
| Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka | |
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In office 1 August 2004 – 30 September 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Nirupam Sen |
| Succeeded by | Alok Prasad |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 December 1950 Malappuram, Kerala, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Nirupama Menon Rao (born 6 December 1950) is a 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, who served as India's Foreign Secretary from 2009 to 2011, as well as being India's Ambassador to the United States, China and Sri Lanka (High Commissioner) during her career.
In July 2009, she became the second woman (after Chokila Iyer) to hold the post of India's Foreign Secretary, the head of the Indian Foreign Service. In her career she served in several capacities including, Minister of Press, Information and Culture in Washington DC, Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, stints in the MEA as Joint Secretary, East Asia and External Publicity, the latter position making her the first woman spokesperson of the MEA, Chief of Personnel, Ambassador to Peru and China, and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.
Nirupama Rao was born in Malappuram, Kerala. Her father, Lt. Colonel P.V.N Menon, was in the Indian Army. Her mother, Meempat Narayanikutty, was the first woman college graduate in her family, obtaining a BA Mathematics (Honors) degree from Madras University in 1947. Her sisters, Nirmala and Asha, are medical doctors by profession. Nirmala, pursued a career in the Indian Navy, retiring in 2013 as Surgeon Rear Admiral.
Due to her father's profession, Rao schooled in various cities including Bangalore, Pune, Lucknow, and Coonoor. She graduated from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, with a BA in English in 1970, topping the Bangalore University. She was a member of the then Mysore government's youth delegation to Expo 70 in Japan, in September 1970. She then went on to obtain her master's degree in English Literature from what was then known as Marathwada University in Maharashtra.
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