42 Facts About Nirupama Rao

Nirupama Rao graduated from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, with a BA in English in 1970, topping Bangalore University.

Nirupama Rao was a member of the then Mysore government's youth delegation to Expo 70 in Japan, in September 1970.

Nirupama Rao then went on to obtain her master's degree in English literature from what was then known as Marathwada University in Maharashtra.

In 1973, Nirupama Rao topped the All India Civil Services Examination for both the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Administrative Service, and joined the Indian Foreign Service.

From 1978 to 1981, Nirupama Rao served as an Under Secretary on the Southern Africa and Nepal desks, respectively, in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.

In 1981, Nirupama Rao was posted as First Secretary in the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.

Nirupama Rao served in the MEA's East Asia Division for an unprecedented 8 consecutive years, from 1984 to 1992, eventually becoming Joint Secretary of the division in the late 1980s.

Nirupama Rao was a member of the delegation led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi when he made his historic visit to Beijing in December 1988.

Nirupama Rao was present at the Japanese embassy in Lima on 17 December 1996, during a reception to celebrate the birthday of the Japanese Emperor.

Nirupama Rao left the embassy minutes before it was stormed by a group of Tupac Amaru militants who occupied the embassy for the next four months, holding a number of high-profile hostages.

In 2001, Nirupama Rao became the official spokesperson for the MEA with her appointment as Joint Secretary, External Publicity Division.

Nirupama Rao was the first, and so far only, female spokesperson for the MEA.

From 2002 to 2004, Nirupama Rao served as Additional Secretary, Administration.

In 2003, on the initiative of the then National Security Advisor and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Brajesh Mishra, Nirupama Rao became a member of the Special Representative's delegation for border talks with China.

Nirupama Rao participated in the first three rounds of these talks before her departure for Sri Lanka in 2004.

Nirupama Rao became India's first woman High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in August 2004, replacing Nirupam Sen.

Nirupama Rao's tenure saw state visits by President Hu Jintao to India and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China.

In 2007, Nirupama Rao took the initiative to expand the Cultural Wing of the Embassy of India, transforming it into a hub for cultural activities including lectures, seminars, music and dance recitals and classes for Chinese students interested in Indian culture.

Nirupama Rao's tenure witnessed the devastating Sichuan earthquake in the summer of 2008, on the eve of the Beijing Olympics.

Nirupama Rao visited the earthquake affected city of Chengdu soon after the earthquake to coincide with the arrival of Indian Air Force aircraft bringing relief supplies.

Nirupama Rao's being summoned to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the early hour of 2 am on 21 March 2008 during disturbances in Tibet was the subject of considerable focus and criticism in the Indian media.

Nirupama Rao became India's second woman Foreign Secretary, succeeding Shivshankar Menon, on 1 August 2009.

Nirupama Rao's handling of India-Pakistan related issues received considerable attention in the media.

Nirupama Rao steered two Conferences of Indian Heads of Mission during her tenure.

Nirupama Rao made special efforts to augment and intensify the activities of the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs increasing its outreach significantly.

Nirupama Rao was a pioneer among senior officers of the Government of India in the use of social media, establishing her Twitter account in February 2011.

In 2010, while she was Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao delivered the Harish Mahindra lecture at Harvard University and in 2011, the inaugural lecture for the Singapore Consortium for India-China Dialogue.

Nirupama Rao was appointed as Ambassador of India to the US after completion of her tenure as Foreign Secretary.

Nirupama Rao served a tenure as ambassador in the United States from September 2011 to November 2013.

Nirupama Rao played a strong advocacy role for the bilateral relationship, being active in several public fora, including many leading US universities, radio and TV shows, and in the print media where she authored op-eds on gender issues in India, IPR issues concerning pharmaceuticals, and on the growth of the India-US strategic partnership.

Nirupama Rao interacted frequently with several Indian American community organizations across the length and breadth of the United States.

Nirupama Rao was particularly active in her outreach to the members of the Senate and House Caucuses on India and Indian Americans in both Houses of the US Congress.

Nirupama Rao's tenure saw the purchase by the Indian Government of a property in downtown Washington DC to house the Center.

Nirupama Rao had consistently held that the fascination in the United States for Indian culture, the arts and letters of India, music and dance could be effectively leveraged to secure a deeper understanding and partnership.

Nirupama Rao's efforts led to the inscribing of the Embassy residence in the register of historical residences in the upscale Cleveland Park neighborhood of the city.

In 2017, Nirupama Rao was named a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC, affiliated with the center's Asia Program.

Nirupama Rao continues to be involved with the Wilson Center, serving on the Board of Advisors for the Asia Program.

In 2018, Nirupama Rao was named the George Ball Adjunct Professor for the fall semester at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Nirupama Rao is currently a member of the Council of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the International Crisis Group.

Nirupama Rao's first published work was a collection of her English language poems titled Rain Rising, which was released in India in 2004 by Rupa Publications.

In May 2012, Nirupama Rao was conferred the degree of Doctor of Letters by Pondicherry University at their Convocation.

In February 2016, Nirupama Rao received the Vanitha Rathnam Award from the Government of Kerala.