Shashi Tharoor | |
|---|---|
 Tharoor in 2021 | |
| Pronunciation | [ʃɐʃi t̪ɐɾuːr] |
| Born | 9 March 1956 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi (BA) Tufts University (MA, MALD, PhD) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Works | Bibliography |
| Political party | Indian National Congress (2008–present) |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honours | |
| Chairman of Committee on External Affairs | |
| Assumed office 26 September 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | S. Jaishankar |
| Preceded by | P. P. Chaudhary |
| Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development | |
| In office 28 October 2012 – 26 May 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Minister | Kapil Sibal M. M. Pallam Raju |
| Preceded by | Daggubati Purandeswari |
| Succeeded by | Upendra Kushwaha |
| Union Minister of State for External Affairs | |
| In office 28 May 2009 – 18 April 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Minister | S. M. Krishna |
| Preceded by | Anand Sharma |
| Succeeded by | E. Ahamed |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| Assumed office 31 May 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Pannyan Raveendran |
| Constituency | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information | |
| In office 1 June 2002 – 9 February 2007 | |
| Secretary General | Kofi Annan |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Kiyotaka Akasaka |
| Chairman of Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology | |
| In office 13 September 2019 – 12 September 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Anurag Thakur |
| Succeeded by | Nishikant Dubey |
| Chairman of Standing Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers | |
| In office 13 September 2022 – 12 September 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Kanimozhi Karunanidhi |
| Succeeded by | Kirti Azad |
| Founder-Chairman of the All India Professionals Congress | |
| In office 1 August 2017 – 15 November 2023 | |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Praveen Chakravarty |
| Writing career | |
| Language | English |
| Period | Postmodern |
| Genre |
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| Subject |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
| Notable works | |
| Website | shashitharoor |
Shashi Tharoor (Malayalam pronunciation: [ʃɐʃi t̪ɐɾuːr]; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, writer, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. He was formerly an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and unsuccessfully ran for the post of Secretary-General in 2006. Founder-Chairman of All India Professionals Congress,[1] he formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and on Informational Technology. He has about two dozen titles to his credit and was awarded by World Economic Forum as "Global Leader of Tomorrow".
Born in London and raised in Mumbai, Tharoor graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, in 1975 and culminated his studies in 1978 with a doctorate in International Relations and Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. At the age of 22, he was the youngest person at the time to receive such an honour from the Fletcher School. From 1978 to 2007, Tharoor was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001. He announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 selection for U.N. Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon.[2]
In 2009, Tharoor began his political career by joining the Indian National Congress and successfully represented the party from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala by winning in the Lok Sabha elections and becoming a member of parliament four times in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. During the Congress-led UPA government, Tharoor served as Minister of State for External Affairs. A non-loyalist of the Gandhis, Tharoor was defeated by Mallikarjun Kharge to be elected as party president in 2022.[3] He is currently a member of the Congress Working Committee, which is highest decision making body of the Indian National Congress.[4]
A Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Tharoor has authored many works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981.[5][6] Popular for his command of the English language, Tharoor was the most followed Indian on Twitter before being overtaken by Narendra Modi.[7]
- ^ "All India Professionals Congress – Indian National Congress". Indian National Congress. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- ^ Shukla, Saurabh (16 October 2006). "UN top job: Why India's candidate Shashi Tharoor had to drop out of the race". India Today. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Tharoor vs Gehlot: A battle of opposites for Congress president's post". Onmanorama. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ The Hindu, 20.08.2023
- ^ "The 29-Letter Word That Shashi Tharoor Used To Announce His Book on PM". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ "Hindi not our natural, national language: Shashi Tharoor in The Paradoxical Prime Minister". The Telegraph. Kolkota. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ "Narendra Modi overtakes Shashi Tharoor, becomes most followed Indian politician on Twitter". India Today. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2022.