Dawn: NEW DELHI: New Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid is the latest member of India’s most illustrious Muslim family to be entrusted with one of the highest offices in the country.
The 59-year-old Khurshid, who is 21 years younger than his predecessor S.M. Krishna, was the most eye-catching appointment in a cabinet revamp designed to reinvigorate a government which has shown distinct signs of fatigue.
His appointment comes at a time when he is battling accusations that funds intended for an NGO run by his family have been misappropriated.
As he moved into his new office in New Delhi, Khurshid made clear that he would get straight to work and said that he had been briefed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 80, to bring fresh thinking to his post.
“I have a lot of home work to do … as I want to take India’s foreign policy ahead,” he told reporters shortly after he was officially elevated from his post law minister.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Salman Khurshid | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Minister of External Affairs | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 28 October 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna |
| Minister of Law and Justice | |
| In office 28 May 2011 – 28 October 2012 |
|
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Veerappa Moily |
| Succeeded by | Ashwani Kumar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1953 (age 59) Aligarh, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Khurshid |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi St Edmund Hall, Oxford |
Salman Khurshid (born 1 January 1953) is an Indian politician and presently the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of External Affairs. He belongs to the Indian National Congress. He is a lawyer, and a writer who has been elected from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency in the General Election of 2009. He belongs to the Farrukhabad area. Prior to this he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha (1991–1996) from the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency. He became the Union Deputy Minister of Commerce in June 1991, and later became the Union Minister of State of External Affairs (Jan. 1993-June 1996).[1] Before that he had started his political career in 1981 as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) under the prime ministership of Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
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Early life and education
Born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, he is the son of Khurshed Alam Khan, the former Union Minister of External affairs, Government of India, and maternal grandson of Dr. Zakir Hussain, the third President of India.
He studied in St. Xavier’s High School, Patna, Bihar,[2] B.A. (English and Jurisprudence), M.A., B.C.L. Educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and St Edmund Hall, Oxford University, Oxford, U.K.[1] He also taught as Lecturer in Law at Trinity College, Oxford.
Political career
He started his political career as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s Office, during the Prime Ministership of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the early 1980s. Later he became the Deputy Minister of Commerce in the Government of India, and then Minister of State for External Affairs in the Government of India from 1991-1996. During this period he was the Member of Parliament from the Farrukhabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh. In the General Election of 2009 he was once again elected as Member of Parliament from Farrukhabad, winning as a candidate of the Indian National Congress, with 1,69, 351 votes. He became the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs in the Government of India. He took over as Minister on Friday, 29 May 2009. In the Cabinet reshuffle of 12 July 2011, he was made Cabinet Minister for Law and Justice, and Minority Affairs in the Government of India.
Party Political Offices
He has been the President of the Uttar Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee twice.
He was also the President of the Delhi Public School Society and Dr. Zakir Hussain Study Circle. Read further in Wikipedia
Categories: Asia, Citizenship, Civil Rights, India
My compliments to India! India could be an example to many countries, especially of course Pakistan. Well, Pakistan did in the past have a Christian Chief Justice and a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at as its first Foreign Minister, but unfortunately times have changed for the worse there.
Justice Cornelius was Chief Justice of Pakistan during Ayub Khan’s time I think. Sir Ch. Mohammed Zafrullah Khan was its first Foreign Minister. Sir Zafrullah Khan told me that Ayub Khan had consulted him whether it was ok to have a Christian as a Chief Justice. Sir Zafrullah Khan replied that as he knows the law and as it is his turn there is nothing wrong with it. Ayub Khan took Zafrullah Khan’s advice and appointed Justice Cornelius as Chief Justice. He later resigned to emigrate to Australia, as he (correctly) did not see any future for his children in Pakistan…
Congratulation to fellow Indians. I hope Mr. Khursheed will work hard for global peace.
May God Almighty bless all of us