Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Natwar Singh
K. Natwar Singh (16 May 1931 – 10 August 2024) was an Indian politician, former diplomat, and an author. He served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2004 to 2005. A veteran leader of the Indian National Congress, Singh was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, in 1984.
He held several significant diplomatic postings, including as Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 to 1982, a period of strained bilateral relations. Entering politics in 1984 as a Congress leader, he was elected to Parliament and subsequently served as Union Minister of State for Steel and later as Minister of State for External Affairs until 1989.
In 2014, Singh published his autobiography One Life is Not Enough, which drew wide attention for its account of his diplomatic and political career.
Natwar Singh was born the fourth son of Govind Singh and Prayag Kaur in Deeg Palace, then part of the princely state of Bharatpur. His family belonged to the Jat ruling aristocracy of the region, being related to the dynasty of Bharatpur.
He was educated at Mayo College, Ajmer, one of India’s most prestigious schools established for princely families and nobility. He later studied history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, before pursuing further studies at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he came into contact with leading intellectuals of the time. Singh also spent time as a visiting scholar at Peking University, which provided him with exposure to Chinese history and culture at a formative stage in his diplomatic career.
Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1953 and went on to serve India for 31 years. Among his early postings was Beijing (1956–58). He later worked in New York (1961–66) at India’s Permanent Mission, and during that time also represented India on the executive board of UNICEF (1962–66). He contributed to various United Nations committees between 1963 and 1966. In 1966 he was entrusted with a role in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat under Indira Gandhi.
His overseas assignments thereafter included serving as India’s Ambassador to Poland from 1971 to 1973, then as Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1977, and subsequently as Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 to 1982. He was part of India’s delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica in 1975, and participated as an Indian delegate to the 30th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and the Commonwealth meeting in Lusaka in 1979, as well as to the 35th UN General Assembly in New York. He also accompanied Indira Gandhi on her state visit to the United States in 1982.
Beyond bilateral diplomacy, he served as Executive Trustee of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) from 1981 to 1986, and was chosen as a member of the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Expert Group in 1982. In 1983, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Seventh Non-Aligned Summit held in New Delhi and Chief Coordinator of the same year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He then served as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs between March 1982 and November 1984. His long and distinguished diplomatic contributions were recognised when he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984.
Hub AI
Natwar Singh AI simulator
(@Natwar Singh_simulator)
Natwar Singh
K. Natwar Singh (16 May 1931 – 10 August 2024) was an Indian politician, former diplomat, and an author. He served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2004 to 2005. A veteran leader of the Indian National Congress, Singh was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, in 1984.
He held several significant diplomatic postings, including as Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 to 1982, a period of strained bilateral relations. Entering politics in 1984 as a Congress leader, he was elected to Parliament and subsequently served as Union Minister of State for Steel and later as Minister of State for External Affairs until 1989.
In 2014, Singh published his autobiography One Life is Not Enough, which drew wide attention for its account of his diplomatic and political career.
Natwar Singh was born the fourth son of Govind Singh and Prayag Kaur in Deeg Palace, then part of the princely state of Bharatpur. His family belonged to the Jat ruling aristocracy of the region, being related to the dynasty of Bharatpur.
He was educated at Mayo College, Ajmer, one of India’s most prestigious schools established for princely families and nobility. He later studied history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, before pursuing further studies at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he came into contact with leading intellectuals of the time. Singh also spent time as a visiting scholar at Peking University, which provided him with exposure to Chinese history and culture at a formative stage in his diplomatic career.
Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1953 and went on to serve India for 31 years. Among his early postings was Beijing (1956–58). He later worked in New York (1961–66) at India’s Permanent Mission, and during that time also represented India on the executive board of UNICEF (1962–66). He contributed to various United Nations committees between 1963 and 1966. In 1966 he was entrusted with a role in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat under Indira Gandhi.
His overseas assignments thereafter included serving as India’s Ambassador to Poland from 1971 to 1973, then as Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1977, and subsequently as Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 to 1982. He was part of India’s delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kingston, Jamaica in 1975, and participated as an Indian delegate to the 30th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and the Commonwealth meeting in Lusaka in 1979, as well as to the 35th UN General Assembly in New York. He also accompanied Indira Gandhi on her state visit to the United States in 1982.
Beyond bilateral diplomacy, he served as Executive Trustee of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) from 1981 to 1986, and was chosen as a member of the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Expert Group in 1982. In 1983, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Seventh Non-Aligned Summit held in New Delhi and Chief Coordinator of the same year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He then served as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs between March 1982 and November 1984. His long and distinguished diplomatic contributions were recognised when he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984.