| Minister of External Affairs | |
|---|---|
| Videś Mantrī | |
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| Ministry of External Affairs | |
| Abbreviation | MEA |
| Member of | Cabinet of India Cabinet Committee on Security |
| Reports to | President of India Prime Minister of India Parliament of India |
| Appointer | President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India |
| Formation | 1947 |
| First holder | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Deputy | Kirti Vardhan Singh • Pabitra Margherita |
The Minister of External Affairs (or simply, the External Affairs Minister Hindi: Videsh Mantri) is the head of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most offices in the union cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Minister of External Affairs is to represent India and its government in the international community. The Minister also plays an important role in determining the foreign policy. Occasionally, the Minister of External Affairs is assisted by a Minister of State for External Affairs or the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of External Affairs.
India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, also held the post of External Affairs Minister throughout his 17-year premiership and remains the longest-serving External Affairs Minister. Several other Prime Ministers have since held the additional charge of the minister of external affairs, but never has any other cabinet minister held additional charge of the office - although during Nehru's premiership V. K. Krishna Menon was acknowledged as de facto Minister of External Affairs beyond his official designation as Defence Minister. There have been a number of external affairs ministers who went on to become the Prime Minister like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, P. V. Narasimha Rao and I. K. Gujral. Two former career-diplomats have served as ministers of external affairs, including K. Natwar Singh (2004–2005) who served as India's Ambassador to Poland and as High Commissioner to Pakistan, and the current minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who retired as the Foreign Secretary. Two other ministers, M. C. Chagla and I. K. Gujral also served as ambassadors, with Chagla serving as India's Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, while Gujral served as Ambassador to the Soviet Union.
The current Minister of External Affairs is Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who succeeded Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party on 30 May 2019.