Nirupama Rao

Nirupama Rao is the former Indian Foreign Secretary (2009 – 2011) and Ambassador of India to the United States of America (2011- 2013). Working in the Indian Foreign Service from 1973 to 2011, she has served in various capacities in several countries across the world and was the first woman to be appointed as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Ambassador to China. Mrs Rao has been a Fellow at Harvard University and Brown University. In 2014, she also received the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship, in connection with her ongoing book project on the diplomatic history of relations between India and China.