P. Harish: India's New Permanent Representative to the UN

Appointment and Significance

• Parvathaneni Harish appointed as India's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York
• Currently serving as India's ambassador to Germany
• Succeeds Ruchira Kamboj, the first woman to hold the position
• Appointment announced by the Ministry of External Affairs on August 16, 2024
• One of the most crucial posts in multilateral diplomacy
• Will be the public face of Indian diplomacy at the UN, including bodies like the General Assembly
• Expected to take up the assignment shortly before Prime Minister Modi's visit to the UN General Assembly in September

Career Highlights and Experience

• 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer
• Served as Additional Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs
• Led Economic Diplomacy Division, dealing with bilateral economic relations
• Headed Multilateral Economic Relations Division
• Indian Sous Sherpa for G20, G7, BRICS, and IBSA
• Learned Arabic at the American University of Cairo, passing with distinction
• Served in Indian missions in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
• India's Representative to the Palestinian Authority in Gaza
• Worked on secondment with UNRWA as Chief of Policy Analysis Unit in Gaza
• Served in East Asia and External Publicity Divisions in MEA
• Joint Secretary and Officer on Special Duty to the Vice President of India (2007-2012)
• Consul General of India in Houston (2012-2016)
• Ambassador to Vietnam (2016-2019)
• Current role: Ambassador to Germany (since November 2021)

Educational Background and Personal Life

• Gold medalist in Mechanical Engineering from Osmania University College of Engineering, Hyderabad
• Studied at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
• Married to Parvathaneni Nandita
• Has two daughters