Nirupama Rao to replace Menon as foreign secretary

NEW DELHI: India���s ambassador to China Nirupama Rao has been named the next foreign secretary to succeed Shivshankar Menon who retires on July 31. The government on Tuesday announced that the 1973 batch IFS officer will take over the foreign secretary���s post from Mr Menon, who has had a three-year-long stint as foreign secretary.

Ms Rao has served in a number of key positions and is the second woman to hold the top foreign office post after Chokila Iyer, who was foreign secretary from 2001-2002. Ms Rao, the topper of the 1973 batch, will serve as foreign secretary for around 17 months as she will attain super annuation by the end of next year.

Though there was no official word on whether Mr Menon would continue to work for the government in another capacity, sources indicated that Mr Menon could move to the Prime Minister���s Office. Before her posting to Beijing as ambassador, the 58-year-old diplomat had served as Indian envoy to Sri Lanka and had a stint as the spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs. She was the first woman spokesperson of the ministry. Earlier, she had served in Indian missions in Washington and Moscow and was in charge of east Asia division in the MEA headquarters.

But there are many challenges ahead for the foreign secretary designate. The seasoned diplomat takes over at a delicate time in Indo-Pak ties when the two countries have started talking to each other. Mr Menon will lead the Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks that are set to take place in Egypt next month. The government has also accorded priority to improving ties with the neighbourhood. Over the next month Ms Rao will be eased into the job.

Apart from Pakistan, India is also building up its ties with the US under the Obama administration. Ms Rao and her husband Sudhakar Rao, who is the chief secretary of Karnataka, have been known as something of a power couple. Ms Rao, who was born in Kerala, holds a masters degree in English literature from Marathwada University and has studied in Bangalore, Pune, Lucknow and Coonoor. Ms Rao also served as a Fellow at the then Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University.