Pavan Kumar Varma
| Pavan Varma | |
|---|---|
Varma speaking at a book launch in Nehru Centre, London, in 2005, when he was its director
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| Indian High Commissioner to Cyprus | |
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In office August 8, 2001 – January 23, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | Neelam D. Sabharwal |
| Indian Ambassador to Bhutan | |
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In office 2009 – 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Sudhir Vyas |
| Succeeded by | Virupakshan Pranatharthi Haran |
| MP of Rajya Sabha for Bihar | |
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In office 23 June 2014 – 7 July 2016 |
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| General Secretary of Janata Dal (United) | |
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In office 10 November 2016 – Incumbent |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 5, 1953 Nagpur |
Pavan K. Varma (born 5 November 1953) is a former Indian Foreign Service officer and was an adviser to the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, with cabinet rank. With effect from June, 2014 he was a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) until July 2016. He is currently the National General Secretary and National Spokesman of the Janata Dal (United).
Varma is a graduate of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi where he studied History (Honours) and received the first position. He was President of the St. Stephen’s College Debating Society as well as the star debater and elocutionist of the University of Delhi. He also won the Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyar Memorial Essay Prize at St. Stephen’s. Subsequently, he acquired a degree in Law from the University of Delhi.
He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. His career as a diplomat has seen him serve in several locations, including New York and Moscow. In New York, he was with India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. He also served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Group of 77. In Moscow, he was the Director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre in the Indian Embassy. He was High Commissioner of India to Cyprus as well as the first IFS officer to be selected as the Director of the prestigious Nehru Centre in London. His assignments in India include that of Press Secretary to the President of India, Spokesman in the Ministry of External Affairs, Joint Secretary for Africa and Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi. Varma was the Ambassador of India to Bhutan.
After retiring from the Foreign Service in January, 2013, Varma became a culture adviser to the Chief Minister of Bihar. He is currently the National General Secretary and National Spokesman of the Janata Dal (United). Varma lives in Delhi. Pavan writes columns for Asian Age, Times of India. Prabhat Khabar.
As a sequel to The Great Indian Middle Class in 1998, he, in association with journalist Renuka Khandekar, published Maximize Your Life: An Action Plan for the Indian Middle Class (Viking 2000). His 2004 Being Indian was published by William Heinemann, in the United Kingdom, as Being Indian: Inside the Real India in March 2005.
He is currently writing a book on Adi Shankaracharya (788-820 CE), one of the greatest minds India has produced.
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Wikipedia