Minister of External Affairs (India)

{{Infobox official post

| post = Minister of External Affairs

| body =

| native_name = {{transliteration|hi|Videś Mantrī}}

| flag = Flag of India.svg

| flagsize = 110px

| flagcaption = Flag of India

| insignia = Ministry of External Affairs India.svg

| insigniasize = 200px

| insigniacaption = Emblem of India

| image = The official portrait of External Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.jpg

| imagesize = 150px

| alt =

| incumbent = Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

| incumbentsince = {{start date|2019|5|31|df=y}}

| type =

| status =

| department = Ministry of External Affairs

| style =

| member_of = Cabinet of India
Cabinet Committee on Security

| reports_to = President of India
Prime Minister of India
Parliament of India

| residence =

| seat =

| nominator =

| appointer = President of India

| appointer_qualified = on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India

| termlength =

| termlength_qualified =

| constituting_instrument =

| precursor =

| formation = {{start date|1947|df=y}}

| first = Jawaharlal Nehru

| last =

| abolished =

| succession =

| unofficial_names =

| deputy = Minister of State for External Affairs

| salary =

| abbreviation = MEA

| website =

}}

The minister of external affairs (or simply, the external affairs minister Hindi: Videsh Mantri) is the head of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most offices in the union cabinet, the chief responsibility of the minister of external affairs is to represent the government of India in the international community and advance its interests on the global stage. As such, the minister plays an important role in shaping and directing the country's foreign policy. Typically, the minister is assisted by one or more junior ministers, known as Ministers of State (MoS) for External Affairs.

India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, simultaneously held the post of External Affairs Minister throughout his 17-year premiership and remains the longest-serving External Affairs Minister, followed by S. Jaishankar, the currently serving External Affairs Minister. Several other Prime Ministers have since held the additional charge as the Minister of External Affairs, but never has any other cabinet minister held additional charge of the office - although during Nehru's premiership V. K. Krishna Menon was acknowledged as de facto minister of external affairs beyond his official designation as defence minister. There have been a number of external affairs ministers who went on to become the prime minister like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, P. V. Narasimha Rao and I. K. Gujral. Two former career-diplomats have served as ministers of external affairs, including K. Natwar Singh (2004{{ndash}}2005) who served as India's ambassador to Poland and as high commissioner to Pakistan, and the current minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who retired as the foreign secretary. Two other ministers, M. C. Chagla and I. K. Gujral also served as ambassadors, with Chagla serving as India's ambassador to the United States and high commissioner to the United Kingdom, while Gujral served as ambassador to the Soviet Union.

The current minister of external affairs is Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who succeeded Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party on 30 May 2019.

Cabinet ministers

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" \| {{Abbr\|No.\|Number}} ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"\| Portrait ! rowspan="2" style="width:18em" \|Minister {{small\|(Birth-Death) Constituency}} ! colspan="3" \|Term of office ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" \|Political party ! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" \| Ministry ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"\| Prime Minister
style="width:8em"\| From ! style="width:8em"\| To ! style="width:6em"\| Period
colspan="11"\| Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations
1 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Jawaharlal Nehru {{small\|(1889{{ndash}}1964) MCA for United Provinces}} (Prime Minister) \| 15 August 1947 \| 26 January 1950 \| {{ayd\|15 Aug 1947\|26 Jan 1950}} \| Indian National Congress \| Nehru I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| Self
colspan="11"\| Minister of External Affairs
rowspan="4"\| (1) \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| 70px \| rowspan="4"\| Jawaharlal Nehru {{small\|(1889{{ndash}}1964) MCA for United Provinces (till 1952) MP for Phulpur (from 1952)}} (Prime Minister) \| rowspan="4"\| 26 January 1950 \| rowspan="4"\| 27 May 1964{{ref label\|†\|†\|†}} \| rowspan="4"\| {{ayd\|1950\|1\|26\|1964\|5\|27}} \| rowspan="12"\| Indian National Congress \| Nehru I \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| Self
Nehru II
Nehru III
Nehru IV
2 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Gulzarilal Nanda {{small\|(1898{{ndash}}1998) MP for Sabarkantha}} (Prime Minister) \| 27 May 1964 \| 9 June 1964 \| {{ayd\|1964\|5\|27\|1964\|6\|9}} \| Nanda I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| Self
3 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Lal Bahadur Shastri {{small\|(1904{{ndash}}1966) MP for Allahabad}} (Prime Minister) \| 9 June 1964 \| 17 July 1964 \| {{ayd\|1964\|6\|9\|1964\|7\|17}} \| rowspan="2"\| Shastri \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Lal Bahadur Shastri
rowspan="3"\| 4 \| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="3"\| 70px \| rowspan="3"\| Swaran Singh {{small\|(1907{{ndash}}1994) MP for Jullundur}} \| 17 July 1964 \| 11 January 1966 \| rowspan="3"\| {{ayd\|1964\|7\|17\|1966\|11\|14}}
11 January 1966 \| 24 January 1966 \| Nanda II \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| style="width:9em"\| Gulzarilal Nanda
24 January 1966 \| 14 November 1966 \| rowspan="2"\| Indira I \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="8"\| Indira Gandhi
rowspan="2"\| 5 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| M. C. Chagla {{small\|(1900{{ndash}}1981) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra}} \| 14 November 1966 \| 13 March 1967 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|1966\|11\|14\|1967\|9\|5}}
13 March 1967 \| 5 September 1967 \| rowspan="4"\| Indira II
6 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Indira Gandhi {{small\|(1917{{ndash}}1984) MP for Rae Bareli}} (Prime Minister) \| 6 September 1967 \| 13 February 1969 \| {{ayd\|1967\|9\|6\|1969\|2\|13}}
7 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\| \| 70px \| Dinesh Singh {{small\|(1925{{ndash}}1995) MP for Pratapgarh}} \| 14 February 1969 \| 27 June 1970 \| {{ayd\|1969\|2\|14\|1970\|6\|27}} \| rowspan="4"\| Indian National Congress (R) \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\|
rowspan="2"\| (4) \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Swaran Singh {{small\|(1907{{ndash}}1994) MP for Jullundur}} \| 27 June 1970 \| 18 March 1971 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|1970\|6\|27\|1974\|10\|10}}
18 March 1971 \| 10 October 1974 \| rowspan="2"\| Indira III
8 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (R)}}"\| \| 70px \| Yashwantrao Chavan {{small\|(1913{{ndash}}1984) MP for Satara}} \| 10 October 1974 \| 24 March 1977 \| {{ayd\|1974\|10\|10\|1977\|3\|24}}
9 \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Atal Bihari Vajpayee {{small\|(1924{{ndash}}2018) MP for New Delhi}} \| 26 March 1977 \| 28 July 1979 \| {{ayd\|1977\|3\|26\|1979\|7\|28}} \| Janata Party \| Desai \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party}}"\| \| Morarji Desai
10 \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party (Secular)}}; color:white"\| \| 70px \| Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra {{small\|(1920{{ndash}}2004) MP for Begusarai}} \| 28 July 1979 \| 14 January 1980 \| {{ayd\|1979\|7\|28\|1980\|1\|14}} \| Janata Party (Secular) \| Charan \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Party (Secular)}}"\| \| Charan Singh
11 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| P. V. Narasimha Rao {{small\|(1921{{ndash}}2004) MP for Hanamkonda}} \| 14 January 1980 \| 19 July 1984 \| {{ayd\|1980\|1\|14\|1984\|7\|19}} \| rowspan="9"\| Indian National Congress (I) \| rowspan="2"\| Indira IV \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Indira Gandhi
(6) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Indira Gandhi {{small\|(1917{{ndash}}1984) MP for Medak}} (Prime Minister) \| 19 July 1984 \| 31 October 1984{{note label\|†\|†\|†}} \| {{ayd\|1984\|7\|19\|1984\|10\|31}}
rowspan="2"\| 12 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Rajiv Gandhi {{small\|(1944{{ndash}}1991) MP for Amethi}} (Prime Minister) \| 31 October 1984 \| 31 December 1984 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|1984\|10\|31\|1985\|9\|24}} \| Rajiv I \| rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="7"\| Rajiv Gandhi
31 December 1984 \| 24 September 1985 \| rowspan="6"\| Rajiv
13 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Bali Ram Bhagat {{small\|(1922{{ndash}}2011) MP for Arrah}} \| 24 September 1985 \| 12 May 1986 \| {{ayd\|1985\|9\|24\|1986\|5\|12}}
14 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| P. Shiv Shankar {{small\|(1929{{ndash}}2017) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat}} \| 12 May 1986 \| 22 October 1986 \| {{ayd\|1986\|5\|12\|1986\|10\|22}}
15 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| N. D. Tiwari {{small\|(1925{{ndash}}2018) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh}} \| 22 October 1986 \| 25 July 1987 \| {{ayd\|1986\|10\|22\|1987\|7\|25}}
(12) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Rajiv Gandhi {{small\|(1944{{ndash}}1991) MP for Amethi}} (Prime Minister) \| 25 July 1987 \| 25 June 1988 \| {{ayd\|1987\|7\|25\|1988\|6\|25}}
(11) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| P. V. Narasimha Rao {{small\|(1921{{ndash}}2004) MP for Ramtek}} \| 25 June 1988 \| 2 December 1989 \| {{ayd\|1988\|6\|25\|1989\|12\|2}}
16 \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| 70px \| Vishwanath Pratap Singh {{small\|(1931{{ndash}}2008) MP for Fatehpur}} (Prime Minister) \| 2 December 1989 \| 5 December 1989 \| {{ayd\|1989\|12\|2\|1989\|12\|5}} \| rowspan="2"\| Janata Dal \| rowspan="2"\| Vishwanath \| rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Vishwanath Pratap Singh
17 \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| 70px \| Inder Kumar Gujral {{small\|(1919{{ndash}}2012) MP for Jalandhar}} \| 5 December 1989 \| 10 November 1990 \| {{ayd\|1989\|12\|5\|1990\|11\|10}}
18 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"\| \| 70px \| Chandra Shekhar {{small\|(1927{{ndash}}2007) MP for Ballia}} (Prime Minister) \| 10 November 1990 \| 21 November 1990 \| {{ayd\|1990\|11\|10\|1990\|11\|21}} \| rowspan="3"\| Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) \| rowspan="3"\| Chandra Shekhar \| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color\|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"\| \| rowspan="3"\| Chandra Shekhar
19 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"\| \| 70px \| Vidya Charan Shukla {{small\|(1929{{ndash}}2013) MP for Mahasamund}} \| 21 November 1990 \| 20 February 1991 \| {{ayd\|1990\|11\|21\|1991\|2\|20}}
(18) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"\| \| 70px \| Chandra Shekhar {{small\|(1927{{ndash}}2007) MP for Ballia}} (Prime Minister) \| 20 February 1991 \| 21 June 1991 \| {{ayd\|1991\|2\|20\|1991\|6\|21}}
20 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| \| Madhavsinh Solanki {{small\|(1927{{ndash}}2021) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat}} \| 21 June 1991 \| 31 March 1992 \| {{ayd\|1991\|6\|21\|1992\|3\|31}} \| rowspan="4"\| Indian National Congress (I) \| rowspan="4"\| Rao \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| P. V. Narasimha Rao
(11) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| P. V. Narasimha Rao {{small\|(1921{{ndash}}2004) MP for Nandyal}} (Prime Minister) \| 31 March 1992 \| 18 January 1993 \| {{ayd\|1992\|3\|31\|1993\|1\|18}}
(7) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Dinesh Singh {{small\|(1925{{ndash}}1995) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh}} \| 18 January 1993 \| 10 February 1995 \| {{ayd\|1993\|1\|18\|1995\|2\|10}}
21 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress (I)}}"\| \| 70px \| Pranab Mukherjee {{small\|(1935{{ndash}}2020) Rajya MP for West Bengal}} \| 10 February 1995 \| 16 May 1996 \| {{ayd\|1995\|2\|10\|1996\|5\|16}}
(9) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Atal Bihari Vajpayee {{small\|(1924{{ndash}}2018) MP for Lucknow}} (Prime Minister) \| 16 May 1996 \| 21 May 1996 \| {{ayd\|1996\|5\|16\|1996\|5\|21}} \| rowspan="2"\| Bharatiya Janata Party \| rowspan="2"\| Vajpayee I \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Atal Bihari Vajpayee
22 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Sikander Bakht {{small\|(1918{{ndash}}2004) Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh}} \| 21 May 1996 \| 1 June 1996 \| {{ayd\|1996\|5\|21\|1996\|6\|1}}
rowspan="2"\| (17) \| rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Inder Kumar Gujral {{small\|(1919{{ndash}}2012) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar}} (Prime Minister from 21 April 1997) \| 1 June 1996 \| 21 April 1997 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|1996\|6\|1\|1998\|3\|18}} \| rowspan="2"\| Janata Dal \| Deve Gowda \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| H. D. Deve Gowda
21 April 1997 \| 18 March 1998 \| Gujral \| style="background:{{party color\|Janata Dal}}"\| \| Self
(9) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Atal Bihari Vajpayee {{small\|(1924{{ndash}}2018) MP for Lucknow}} (Prime Minister) \| 19 March 1998 \| 5 December 1998 \| {{ayd\|1998\|3\|19\|1998\|12\|5}} \| rowspan="4"\| Bharatiya Janata Party \| rowspan="2"\| Vajpayee II \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| Atal Bihari Vajpayee
rowspan="2"\| 23 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Jaswant Singh {{small\|(1938{{ndash}}2020) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan}} \| 5 December 1998 \| 13 October 1999 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|1998\|12\|5\|2002\|7\|1}}
13 October 1999 \| 1 July 2002 \| rowspan="2"\| Vajpayee III
24 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Yashwant Sinha {{small\|(born 1937) MP for Hazaribagh}} \| 1 July 2002 \| 22 May 2004 \| {{ayd\|2002\|7\|1\|2004\|5\|22}}
25 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| K. Natwar Singh {{small\|(1931{{ndash}}2024) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan}} \| 23 May 2004 \| 6 November 2005 \| {{ayd\|2004\|5\|23\|2005\|11\|6}} \| rowspan="5"\| Indian National Congress \| rowspan="3"\| Manmohan I \| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| rowspan="5"\| Manmohan Singh
26 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Manmohan Singh {{small\|(1932{{ndash}}2024) Rajya Sabha MP for Assam}} (Prime Minister) \| 6 November 2005 \| 24 October 2006 \| {{ayd\|2005\|11\|6\|2006\|10\|24}}
(21) \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Pranab Mukherjee {{small\|(1935{{ndash}}2020) MP for Jangipur}} \| 24 October 2006 \| 22 May 2009 \| {{ayd\|2006\|10\|24\|2009\|5\|22}}
27 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| S. M. Krishna {{small\|(1932{{ndash}}2024) Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka}} \| 23 May 2009 \| 28 October 2012 \| {{ayd\|2009\|5\|23\|2012\|10\|28}} \| rowspan="2"\| Manmohan II
28 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Indian National Congress}}"\| \| 70px \| Salman Khurshid {{small\|(born 1953) MP for Farrukhabad}} \| 28 October 2012 \| 26 May 2014 \| {{ayd\|2012\|10\|28\|2014\|5\|26}}
29 \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Sushma Swaraj {{small\|(1952{{ndash}}2019) MP for Vidisha}} \| 26 May 2014 \| 30 May 2019 \| {{ayd\|2014\|5\|26\|2019\|5\|30}} \| rowspan="3"\| Bharatiya Janata Party \| Modi I \| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="3"\| Narendra Modi
rowspan="2"\| 30 \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| S. Jaishankar {{small\|(born 1955) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat}} \| rowspan="2"\| 31 May 2019 \| rowspan="2"\|Incumbent \| rowspan="2"\|{{ayd\|2019\|5\|31}} \| Modi II
Modi III

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}

! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait

! rowspan="2" style="width:18em" |Minister
{{small|(Birth-Death)
Constituency}}

! colspan="3" |Term of office

! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party

! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry

! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister

style="width:8em"| From

! style="width:8em"| To

! style="width:6em"| Period

colspan="11"| Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations

| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|

Minister of External Affairs (India)

Cabinet ministers

Ministers of state

Deputy ministers

See also

References

External links