Meera Shankar, Indian Ambassador to United States - Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture

The newly arrived Indian ambassador to the U.S., career diplomat Meera Shankar, will talk at the annual awards ceremony organized by the San Diego Indian American Society and held at Calit2.

Ms. Meera Shankar is the first female Indian Ambassador to the United States. She took up her post in Washington D.C. in April 2009. Shankar is a career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in July 1973. She has held several important assignments during her career: she served as Director in the Prime Ministers Office from 1985 to 1991; was posted to Washington DC and served as Minister (Commerce) from 1991 to 1995.

Thereafter, Shankar headed the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi, overseeing India's cultural diplomacy. Subsequently, 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.

After promotion to the rank of Additional Secretary in 2002, she held the responsibility for the United Nations and International Security. Prior to becoming Ambassador to the U.S., Shankar's last assignment was as Ambassador of India to Germany, where she held the position from 2005 to April 2009. She is married and has a daughter.

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