A. P. Venkateswaran facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
A. P. Venkateswaran
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| Born | 2 June 1930 Brahmapur, Odisha, British India
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| Died | 2 September 2014 (aged 84) Bangalore, India
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| Resting place | Wilson Garden Cremtorium, Bangalore |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Spouse(s) | Usha |
| Children | Kalpana |
| Parent(s) | A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar Vedanayaki Ammal |
| Awards | Fellowship – Harvard University |
Ayilam Panchapakesha Venkateswaran (born 1930, died 2014) was an important Indian diplomat. He worked as India's top diplomat, called the Foreign Secretary. Many people thought he was very good at his job. He was also the head of the Asia Centre in Bangalore. His resignation from his job caused a lot of discussion at the time.
Early Life and Education
A. P. Venkateswaran came from a family in Kerala, a state in southern India. His father, A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar, was a judge and later a government official. Venkateswaran was born in Brahmapur, Odisha, where his father was working.
Venkateswaran was very smart and studied hard. He earned three university degrees in Science, Economics, and Political Science. He joined the Indian Foreign Service (India's diplomatic service) in 1952, when he was 22 years old. After joining, he continued his studies in international law at famous universities like Oxford in London.
He was married to Usha and they had a daughter named Kalpana. Kalpana now lives in the United States. A. P. Venkateswaran passed away in 2014 in Bangalore due to a heart attack.
From 1974 to 1975, he was a special researcher at Harvard University. He also wrote many articles about world politics for different magazines.
His Diplomatic Career
Mr. Venkateswaran worked for India in many countries around the world. He served in Indian foreign offices everywhere except South America. He was India's Ambassador (a country's top representative) in important places like the United States, China, and Syria.
After working as an Ambassador, he became India's representative at the United Nations. In 1986, he returned to India. He was then chosen to be the Foreign Secretary of India. This was the highest job in the Indian Foreign Service. He held this position during the time Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India.
Where he worked
| Office | Position | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Embassy in Prague | Officer | 1955–1957 |
| New York Consulate | Consul | 1957–1959 |
| Embassy – Addis Ababa | Secretary | 1959–1962 |
| Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi | Deputy Secretary | 1962–1964 |
| Embassy – Moscow | Secretary | 1964–1967 |
| Consulate – Bonn | Consul | 1967–1969 |
| Indian High Commission – Fiji | High Commissioner | 1969–1971 |
| Center for Industrial Affairs – Harvard University | Fellow | 1974–1975 |
| Embassy – Washington DC | Acting Ambassador | 1975–1977 |
| Embassy – Damascus | Ambassador | 1977–1980 |
| United Nations | Representative | 1980–1982 |
| Embassy – Beijing | Ambassador | 1982–1986 |
| Government of India | Foreign Secretary | 1986–1987 |
In 1987, Venkateswaran resigned from his government job. After that, he started the Asia Centre Bangalore. This is a special group of diplomats and thinkers based in Bangalore. They work together to share ideas and research.
See also
- Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
- Indian Peace Keeping Force
