Meera Shankar
{{Short description|Indian diplomat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Meera Shankar
| image = Meera Shankar at U.S.-India People to People Conference cropped.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Meera Shankar at the U.S.-India People to People Conference in 2010
| birth_name = Meera Yadav
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|10|09}}
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{{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes
| office = Ambassador of India to the United States
| term_start = 2009
| term_end = 2011
| predecessor = Ronen Sen
| successor = Nirupama Rao
}}}}
Meera Shankar (née Yadav) served as India's Ambassador to the United States of America{{cite web|author=Meera shankar |url=https://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Meera+shankar&rlz=1R2GPEA_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=01ZeSvGKMoamNpvEvK4C&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=10 |title=Meera shankar |date= |accessdate=2012-10-14}} from 26 April 2009{{cite web |url=https://www.indianembassy.org/speeches_statements.php |publisher=Indian Embassy, Washington |date= |accessdate=2015-04-14 |title=Welcome to Embassy of India, Washington D C, USA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415113601/https://www.indianembassy.org/speeches_statements.php |archive-date=15 April 2015 |url-status=dead }} to 2011. She was India's second female ambassador to the United States of America, Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit being the first. She was succeeded by Nirupama Rao on 1 August 2011.
Shankar, an officer of the 1973 batch, was posted in Washington, D.C., from 1991 to 1995. She succeeded Ambassador Ronen Sen.
Early life and career
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Meera Shankar studied at St. Mary's Convent in Nainital and then graduated from St. Bede's College, Shimla and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973.
Shankar served as Director in the Prime Minister’s Office from 1985 to 1991, and in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from 1991 to 1995. While serving in the Ministry of External Affairs, she headed two important divisions dealing with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and relations with Nepal and Bhutan.
Prior to 2009, she served as India's Ambassador in Berlin, Germany.
Shankar was the first serving diplomat to be posted in Washington in more than two decades after G.Shankar Bajpai. In 2003, she achieved the rank of Additional Secretary, she held the responsibility for the United Nations and International Security.
Other activities
Shankar sits on the Board of Trustees of the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft of Deutsche Bank.[https://www.alfred-herrhausen-gesellschaft.de/en/kuratorium.htm Board of Trustees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820074542/https://www.alfred-herrhausen-gesellschaft.de/en/kuratorium.htm |date=20 August 2018 }} Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft of Deutsche Bank. In 2012 she became the first woman on the board of directors of the Indian conglomerate ITC.{{cite news |first=Writankar |last=Mukherjee |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-04/news/33035430_1_ssh-rehman-meera-shankar-itc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813000748/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-04/news/33035430_1_ssh-rehman-meera-shankar-itc|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 August 2014|title= ITC inducts Meera Shankar in its board as the first women ever |date=4 August 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2017 |work=The Times Of India}}
Personal life
Shankar is married to Ajay Shankar, IAS officer of the 1973 batch. They have a daughter, Priya.{{cite news |first=Gail |last=Scott |url=http://www.washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7298:2011-03-29-17.. |title=Private Indian Couple Dedicates Careers to Public Service |newspaper=Washington Diplomat |date=28 March 2011 |accessdate=7 August 2017 }}
Controversies
Shankar was in the news after she went through a pat-down check at Jackson–Evers airport in December 2010, joining the list of Indian VIPs who underwent frisking or quizzing at US airports. The incident led to diplomatic protests from India.{{cite news|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-12-11/news/27611311_1_ambassador-meera-shankar-mississippi-airport-indian-embassy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314012752/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-12-11/news/27611311_1_ambassador-meera-shankar-mississippi-airport-indian-embassy |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 March 2016 |title=After pat-down, US pats Meera|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=11 December 2010|accessdate=13 March 2016}}
See also
References
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External links
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- [http://asiasociety.org/video/policy-politics/new-era-us-india-relations-complete Video: Ambassador Meera Shankar on US-India Relations] Asia Society New York, Feb. 19, 2010
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Category:Ambassadors of India to the United States
Category:Ambassadors of India to Germany