https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Sujatha_SinghSujatha Singh - Revision history2026-10-28T03:23:54ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sujatha_Singh&diff=538012&oldid=prevPolarishealthcare: Added First Bio Basic Info2026-04-24T10:18:11Z<p>Added First Bio Basic Info</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description| 30th Foreign Secretary of India}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| name = Sujatha Singh<br />
| image = Sujatha Singh with Deputy Secretary Burns (cropped).jpg<br />
| image_size = 200<br />
| caption =<br />
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1954|07}}<br />
| birth_place = [[India]]<br />
| term_start = {{Start date|2013|08|01|df=yes}}<br />
| term_end = {{End date|2015|01|28|df=yes}}<br />
| office = [[Foreign Secretary of India|30th Foreign Secretary of India]]<br />
| prime_minister = [[Manmohan Singh]], [[Narendra Modi]]<br />
| term = <br />
| predecessor = [[Ranjan Mathai]]<br />
| successor = [[Subrahmanyam Jaishankar]]<br />
| office1 = [[List of ambassadors of India to Germany|Ambassador of India to Germany]]<br />
| prime_minister1 = [[Manmohan Singh]]<br />
| term_start1 = 2012<br />
| term_end1 = 2013<br />
| predecessor1 = [[Sudhir Vyas]]<br />
| successor1 = [[Vijay Keshav Gokhale]]<br />
| office2 = [[List of high commissioners of India to Australia|Higher Commissioner of India to Australia]]<br />
| prime_minister2 = [[Manmohan Singh]]<br />
| term_start2 = 2007<br />
| term_end2 = 2012<br />
| predecessor2 = RP Shukla<br />
| successor2 = Biren Nanda<br />
| occupation = [[Indian Foreign Service|IFS]]<br />
| parents = {{Unbulleted_list|[[T. V. Rajeswar]]|Mahalakshmi}}<br />
| spouse = Dr. Sanjay M. Singh<ref name=thehindu>{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh to be India's next Foreign Secretary|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sujatha-singh-to-be-indias-next-foreign-secretary/article4872628.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703051720/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sujatha-singh-to-be-indias-next-foreign-secretary/article4872628.ece|archive-date=3 July 2013|access-date=3 July 2013|newspaper=The Hindu|date=2 July 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
| children = <br />
| profession = [[retired]] [[diplomat]]<br />
| alma_mater = [[Lady Shri Ram College]]<br />[[Delhi School of Economics]]<br />[[Delhi University]] <br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Sujatha Singh ''' (born July 1954) is a [[retired]] [[Indian people|Indian]] [[diplomat]] of the [[Indian Foreign Service]] who served as the 30th [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]]. Previously she also served as the [[Ambassador of India to Germany]] and as the [[High Commissioner of India to Australia]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh takes charge as India's new foreign secretary|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/sujatha-singh-takes-charge-as-india-s-new-foreign-secretary-113080100368_1.html|date=1 August 2013|accessdate=1 August 2013|newspaper=[[Business Standard]]}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Family and education==<br />
Born in July 1954, Sujatha Singh is the daughter of the former [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Intelligence Bureau]] chief and, later, [[Governor]] of Uttar Pradesh [[T. V. Rajeswar]]. She is an alumna of the [[Lady Shri Ram College for Women|Lady Shri Ram College]], New Delhi and the [[Delhi School of Economics]] from where she graduated in economics. She is married to Sanjay Singh, who is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer.<ref name="thehindu"/><ref name="tribuneindia">{{cite news|title=Seniority prevails, Sujatha Singh is new Foreign Secy|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130703/main6.htm|accessdate=3 July 2013|newspaper=The Tribune|date=2 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="business-standard">{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh is India's next foreign secretary|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/sujatha-singh-is-india-s-next-foreign-secretary-113070200872_1.html|accessdate=3 July 2013|newspaper=Business Standard|date=2 July 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Career==<br />
Singh is an [[Indian Foreign Service]] (IFS) officer {{clarify|date=June 2025|reason=explain "batch" |text=of the 1976 batch.}} She is a [[German language|German speaker]] and served in various positions at the Indian embassies at [[Bonn]], [[Accra]], Paris, and [[Bangkok]]. She was India's [[Consul general]] at [[Milan]] during 2000–04. She has also served as India's [[High Commissioner (Commonwealth)|High Commissioner]] to Australia (2007–2012). In Delhi she has served on the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry's]] Economic Co-ordination Unit and dealt with [[Nepal]], West Europe and the EU as director, [[undersecretary]] and joint secretary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mrs Sujatha Singh, Ambassador of India, Embassy of India, Berlin|url=http://www.indianembassy.de/pages.php?id=7|publisher=Embassy of India, Berlin|accessdate=3 July 2013}}</ref> Her tenure as High Commissioner to Australia was marked by turbulence in [[Australia-India relations|Indo-Australian ties]] following racial attacks on Indian students and later by the [[Australian Labour Party]]'s decision to make an exception for India regarding the sale of uranium. She has a reputation for toughness, volunteering as a liaison officer on a rain-hit Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in 1983,<ref>{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh to succeed Ranjan Mathai as foreign secretary|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sujatha-Singh-to-succeed-Ranjan-Mathai-as-foreign-secretary/articleshow/20885400.cms|accessdate=3 July 2013|newspaper=The Times of India|date=3 July 2013}}</ref> taking a tough stance with the Australian authorities on dealing with the racial attacks against Indians there,<ref name="tribuneindia" /> and, as joint secretary handling Western Europe, she advocated India's stance of not accepting prescriptive aid from small European Union nations.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh set to take her place in corner room|url=http://newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Sujatha-Singh-set-to-take-her-place-in-corner-room/2013/06/30/article1659435.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318085432/http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Sujatha-Singh-set-to-take-her-place-in-corner-room/2013/06/30/article1659435.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 March 2014|accessdate=3 July 2013|newspaper=The New Indian Express|date=30 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh to replace Ranjan Mathai as Foreign Secretary|url=http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Sujatha-Singh-to-replace-Ranjan-Mathai-as-Foreign-Secretary/2013/07/03/article1664791.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318085435/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Sujatha-Singh-to-replace-Ranjan-Mathai-as-Foreign-Secretary/2013/07/03/article1664791.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 March 2014|accessdate=3 July 2013|newspaper=The New Indian Express|date=3 July 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Foreign Secretary ==<br />
In 2013, Sujatha Singh succeeded [[Ranjan Mathai]] as Foreign Secretary of India. Though Singh was senior by tenure, her appointment as foreign secretary over [[S. Jaishankar]] was criticised by citing her inexperience in holding key diplomatic offices. The fact that she had never served as ambassador to any of India's neighbouring nations, unlike Jaishankar, was seen as a challenge.<br />
<br />
In the normal course, she should have retired from the IFS in July 2014 upon her 60th birthday, but appointments to the position of foreign secretary are usually made for a tenure of two years, and such was the case with her. She thus received an extension in service of thirteen months, and her two-year term as Foreign Secretary should have ended in August 2015.<ref name="thehindu" /><ref name="business-standard" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Sujatha Singh to be India's next Foreign Secretary|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sujatha-singh-to-be-indias-next-foreign-secretary/1136601/|accessdate=3 July 2013|newspaper=The Indian Express|date=2 July 2013}}</ref> However, a government order on 28 January 2015, issued by the newly elected government of [[Narendra Modi]], terminated her extended service and appointed another person to the post of Foreign Secretary.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Sharma, B. P., Secretariat of the Appoints Committee of the Cabinet|title=Minute|date=26 January 2015|publisher=Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension, Government of India|url=http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02eod/36-1-15-smi-sjaishankar.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129093931/http://ccis.nic.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02eod/36-1-15-smi-sjaishankar.pdf|archive-date=29 January 2015|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> This was [[S. Jaishankar]], who as Indian Ambassador to the United States had played a key role during Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US, and in US President Obama's visit to India.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sujatha Singh removed as foreign secretary, S Jaishankar appointed in her place |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sujatha-Singh-removed-as-foreign-secretary-S-Jaishankar-appointed-in-her-place/articleshow/46047337.cms}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Singh, Neha |title=US Envoy S Jaishankar Replaces Sujata Singh as New Foreign Secretary; Cong Questions Timing |date=29 January 2015|newspaper=International Business Times, India Edition |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.in/us-envoy-s-jaishankar-replaces-sujata-singh-new-foreign-secretary-cong-questions-timing-621831 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131180510/http://www.ibtimes.co.in/us-envoy-s-jaishankar-replaces-sujata-singh-new-foreign-secretary-cong-questions-timing-621831 |archive-date=31 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist|2}}<br />
<br />
{{s-start}}<br />
{{s-dip}}<br />
{{s-bef|before=R.P. Shukla}}<br />
{{s-ttl|title=[[High Commissioner of India to Australia]]|years=2007–2012}}<br />
{{s-aft|after=Biren Nanda}}<br />
{{s-bef|before=[[Sudhir Vyas]]}}<br />
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ambassador of India to Germany]]|years=2012–2013}}<br />
{{s-aft|after=[[Vijay Keshav Gokhale]]}}<br />
{{s-bef|before=[[Ranjan Mathai]]}}<br />
{{s-ttl|title=[[Foreign Secretary of India]]|years=2013–2015}}<br />
{{s-aft|after=[[S. Jaishankar]]}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sujatha}}<br />
[[Category:1954 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Lady Shri Ram College alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Delhi School of Economics alumni]]<br />
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Germany]]<br />
[[Category:High commissioners of India to Australia]]<br />
[[Category:Foreign secretaries of India]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Foreign Service officers]]<br />
[[Category:Women ambassadors of India]]</div>Polarishealthcare