Until recently, he was India’s top envoy in Paris.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: Arun Kumar Singh assumed charge as the 24th Indian ambassador to the United States on April 30.
The envoy, who served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy here, from October 2008 to April 2013, succeeds S. Jaiashankar, who was named Foreign Secretary, the top diplomatic position, in January.
Until recently, Singh was India’s ambassador to France, a position he held since April 2013.
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A 1979 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Singh also served in New York at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Office from 1993 to 1997 as Counselor.
From April 2005 to September 2008, he served as India’s ambassador to Israel.
Indian ambassadors to the United States from 1947 to 2015
He has served as an Indian diplomat in a number of countries, including then-Soviet Union (1981-1982), Ethiopia (1982-1985) and Japan (1985-1988).
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A graduate of Delhi University, where he also taught for two years, Singh speaks Russian and Japanese, and has “some knowledge of French and Hebrew,” according to his official bio posted on the Embassy of India website.
His wife, Maina Chawla Singh, is a Scholar in Residence at the School of International Service at American University in Washington.