Minister of External Affairs (India)
Minister of External Affairs | |
---|---|
Videsh Mantrī | |
Cabinet of India Cabinet Committee on Security | |
Reports to | President of India Prime Minister of India Parliament of India |
Appointer | President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India |
Formation | 1947 |
First holder | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Deputy | Minister of State for External Affairs |
The Minister of External Affairs (or simply, the Foreign Minister Hindi: Videsh Mantri) is the head of the
Indian foreign policy
. Occasionally, the Foreign Minister is assisted by a Minister of State for External Affairs or the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of External Affairs.
India's first Prime Minister,
I. K. Gujral
.
The current Minister of External Affairs is
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, succeeding Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party
on 30 May 2019.
Cabinet Ministers
Note: † Died or assassinated in office
No. | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) |
Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From | To | Period | |||||||
Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations | |||||||||
1 | Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) MCA for United Provinces (Prime Minister) |
15 August 1947 |
26 January 1950 |
2 years, 164 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Self | ||
Minister of External Affairs | |||||||||
(1) | Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) MCA for United Provinces (till 1952) MP for Phulpur (from 1952) (Prime Minister) |
26 January 1950 |
27 May 1964[†] |
14 years, 122 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Self | ||
Nehru II | |||||||||
Nehru III | |||||||||
Nehru IV | |||||||||
2 | Gulzarilal Nanda (1898–1998) MP for Sabarkantha (Acting Prime Minister) |
27 May 1964 |
9 June 1964 |
13 days | Nanda I | Self | |||
3 | Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–1966) MP for Allahabad (Prime Minister) |
9 June 1964 |
17 July 1964 |
38 days | Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | |||
4 | Swaran Singh (1907–1994) MP for Jullundur |
17 July 1964 |
11 January 1966 |
2 years, 120 days | |||||
11 January 1966 |
24 January 1966 |
Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting) | ||||||
24 January 1966 |
14 November 1966 |
Indira I | Indira Gandhi | ||||||
5 | M. C. Chagla (1900–1981) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra |
14 November 1966 |
13 March 1967 |
295 days | |||||
13 March 1967 |
5 September 1967 |
Indira II | |||||||
6 | Rae Bareli (Prime Minister) |
6 September 1967 |
13 February 1969 |
1 year, 160 days | |||||
7 | Dinesh Singh (1925–1995) MP for Pratapgarh |
14 February 1969 |
27 June 1970 |
1 year, 133 days | Indian National Congress (R) | ||||
(4) | Swaran Singh (1907–1994) MP for Jullundur |
27 June 1970 |
18 March 1971 |
4 years, 105 days | |||||
18 March 1971 |
10 October 1974 |
Indira III | |||||||
8 | Yashwantrao Chavan (1913–1984) MP for Satara |
10 October 1974 |
24 March 1977 |
2 years, 165 days | |||||
9 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for New Delhi |
26 March 1977 |
28 July 1979 |
2 years, 124 days | Janata Party | Desai
|
Morarji Desai | ||
10 | Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra (1920–2004) MP for Begusarai |
28 July 1979 |
14 January 1980 |
170 days | Janata Party (Secular) | Charan Singh | Charan Singh | ||
11 | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Hanamkonda |
14 January 1980 |
19 July 1984 |
4 years, 187 days | Indian National Congress (I)
|
Indira IV | Indira Gandhi | ||
(6) | Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) MP for Medak (Prime Minister) |
19 July 1984 |
31 October 1984† |
104 days | |||||
12 | Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP for Amethi (Prime Minister) |
31 October 1984 |
31 December 1984 |
328 days | Rajiv I | Rajiv Gandhi | |||
31 December 1984 |
24 September 1985 |
Rajiv | |||||||
13 | Bali Ram Bhagat (1922–2011) MP for Arrah |
24 September 1985 |
12 May 1986 |
230 days | |||||
14 | P. Shiv Shankar (1929–2017) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat |
12 May 1986 |
22 October 1986 |
163 days | |||||
15 | N. D. Tiwari (1925–2018) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh |
22 October 1986 |
25 July 1987 |
276 days | |||||
(12) | Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP for Amethi (Prime Minister) |
25 July 1987 |
25 June 1988 |
336 days | |||||
(11) | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Ramtek |
25 June 1988 |
2 December 1989 |
1 year, 160 days | |||||
16 | V. P. Singh (1931–2008) MP for Fatehpur (Prime Minister) |
2 December 1989 |
5 December 1989 |
3 days | Janata Dal | Vishwanath | V. P. Singh | ||
17 | Inder Kumar Gujral (1919–2012) MP for Jalandhar |
5 December 1989 |
10 November 1990 |
340 days | |||||
18 | Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) MP for Ballia (Prime Minister) |
10 November 1990 |
21 November 1990 |
11 days | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar | ||
19 | Vidya Charan Shukla (1929–2013) MP for Mahasamund |
21 November 1990 |
20 February 1991 |
91 days | |||||
(18) | Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) MP for Ballia (Prime Minister) |
20 February 1991 |
21 June 1991 |
121 days | |||||
20 | Madhavsinh Solanki
(1927–2021) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat |
21 June 1991 |
31 March 1992 |
284 days | Indian National Congress (I)
|
Rao | P. V. Narasimha Rao | ||
11 | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Nandyal (Prime Minister) |
31 March 1992 |
18 January 1993 |
293 days | |||||
(7) | Dinesh Singh (1925–1995) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh |
18 January 1993 |
10 February 1995 |
2 years, 23 days | |||||
21 | Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020) Rajya MP for West Bengal |
10 February 1995 |
16 May 1996 |
1 year, 96 days | |||||
(9) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister) |
16 May 1996 |
21 May 1996 |
5 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee I | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||
22 | Sikander Bakht (1918–2004) Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh |
21 May 1996 |
1 June 1996 |
11 days | |||||
(17) | Inder Kumar Gujral (1919–2012) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar (Prime Minister from 21 April 1997) |
1 June 1996 |
21 April 1997 |
1 year, 290 days | Janata Dal | Deve Gowda | H. D. Deve Gowda | ||
21 April 1997 |
18 March 1998 |
Gujral | Self | ||||||
(9) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister) |
19 March 1998 |
5 December 1998 |
261 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||
23 | Jaswant Singh (1938–2020) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan |
5 December 1998 |
13 October 1999 |
3 years, 208 days | |||||
13 October 1999 |
1 July 2002 |
Vajpayee III | |||||||
24 | Yashwant Sinha (born 1937) MP for Hazaribagh |
1 July 2002 |
22 May 2004 |
1 year, 326 days | |||||
25 | K. Natwar Singh
(born 1929) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan |
23 May 2004 |
6 November 2005 |
1 year, 167 days | Indian National Congress | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | ||
26 | Manmohan Singh (born 1932) Rajya Sabha MP for Assam (Prime Minister) |
6 November 2005 |
24 October 2006 |
352 days | |||||
(21) | Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020) MP for Jangipur |
24 October 2006 |
22 May 2009 |
2 years, 210 days | |||||
27 | S. M. Krishna (born 1932) Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka |
23 May 2009 |
28 October 2012 |
3 years, 158 days | Manmohan II | ||||
28 | Salman Khurshid (born 1953) MP for Farrukhabad |
28 October 2012 |
26 May 2014 |
1 year, 210 days | |||||
29 | Sushma Swaraj (1952–2019) MP for Vidisha |
26 May 2014 |
30 May 2019 |
5 years, 4 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | ||
30 | S. Jaishankar (born 1955) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat |
31 May 2019 |
Incumbent | 4 years, 329 days | Modi II |
Ministers of State
No. | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) |
Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From | To | Period | |||||||
1 | Lakshmi N. Menon (1899–1994) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar |
16 April 1962 |
27 May 1964 |
3 years, 283 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru IV | Jawaharlal Nehru | ||
27 May 1964 |
9 June 1964 |
Nanda I | Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting) | ||||||
15 June 1964 |
11 January 1966 |
Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | ||||||
11 January 1966 |
24 January 1966 |
Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting) | ||||||
2 | Dinesh Singh (1925–1995) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh |
24 January 1966 |
13 March 1967 |
1 year, 48 days | Indira I | Indira Gandhi | |||
3 | Bali Ram Bhagat (1922–2011) MP for Arrah |
14 November 1967 |
14 February 1969 |
1 year, 92 days | Indira II | ||||
4 | Surendra Pal Singh (1917–2009) MP for Bulandshahr |
5 February 1973 |
10 October 1974 |
1 year, 247 days | Indian National Congress (R) | Indira III | |||
5 | Samarendra Kundu (1930–?) MP for Balasore |
14 August 1977 |
28 July 1979 |
1 year, 348 days | Janata Party | Desai
|
Morarji Desai | ||
6 | Bedabrata Barua (born 1928) MP for Kaliabor |
4 August 1979 |
14 January 1980 |
163 days | Indian National Congress (Urs)
|
Charan Singh | Charan Singh | ||
7 | A. A. Rahim (1920–1995) MP for Chirayinkil |
2 September 1982 |
31 October 1984 |
2 years, 59 days | Indian National Congress (I)
|
Indira IV | Indira Gandhi | ||
8 | Ram Niwas Mirdha (1924–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan |
2 August 1984 |
31 October 1984 |
90 days | |||||
(7) | A. A. Rahim (1920–1995) MP for Chirayinkil |
4 November 1984 |
31 December 1984 |
57 days | Rajiv I | Rajiv Gandhi | |||
(8) | Ram Niwas Mirdha (1924–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan | ||||||||
9 | Khurshed Alam Khan (1919–2013) MP for Farrukhabad |
31 December 1984 |
25 September 1985 |
268 days | Rajiv II | ||||
10 | K. R. Narayanan (1921–2005) MP for Ottapalam |
25 September 1985 |
22 October 1986 |
1 year, 27 days | |||||
11 | Eduardo Faleiro (born 1940) MP for Mormugao |
12 May 1986 |
14 February 1988 |
1 year, 278 days | |||||
12 | K. Natwar Singh
(born 1929) MP for Bharatpur |
22 October 1986 |
2 December 1989 |
3 years, 41 days | |||||
13 | Kamla Kant Tiwari MP for Buxar |
25 June 1988 |
22 April 1989 |
301 days | |||||
14 | Hari Kishore Singh (1934–2013) MP for Sheohar |
23 April 1990 |
10 November 1990 |
201 days | Indian People's Front | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar | ||
15 | Eduardo Faleiro (born 1940) MP for Mormugao |
21 June 1991 |
18 January 1993 |
1 year, 211 days | Indian National Congress (I)
|
Rao | P. V. Narasimha Rao | ||
16 | R. L. Bhatia (1920–2021) MP for Amritsar |
2 July 1992 |
16 May 1993 |
318 days | |||||
17 | Salman Khurshid (born 1953) MP for Farrukhabad |
18 January 1993 |
16 May 1996 |
3 years, 119 days | |||||
18 | Saleem Iqbal Shervani (born 1953) MP for Badaun |
9 June 1997 |
19 March 1998 |
332 days | Samajwadi Party | Gujral | Inder Kumar Gujral | ||
19 | Kamala Sinha (1932–2014) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar |
Janata Dal | |||||||
20 | Vasundhara Raje (born 1953) MP for Jhalawar |
20 March 1998 |
13 October 1999 |
1 year, 207 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||
21 | Ajit Kumar Panja (1936–2008) MP for Calcutta North East |
13 October 1999 |
16 March 2001 |
1 year, 154 days | All India Trinamool Congress
|
Vajpayee III | |||
22 | Krishnam Raju (1940–2022) MP for Narasapuram |
30 September 2000 |
22 July 2001 |
295 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | ||||
23 | Omar Abdullah (born 1970) MP for Srinagar |
22 July 2001 |
23 December 2002 |
1 year, 154 days | Jammu and Kashmir National Conference
| ||||
24 | Digvijay Singh (1955–2010) MP for Banka |
1 July 2002 |
22 May 2004 |
1 year, 326 days | Janata Dal (United) | ||||
25 | Vinod Khanna (1946–2017) MP for Gurdaspur |
29 January 2003 |
22 May 2004 |
1 year, 114 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | ||||
26 | E. Ahamed (1938–2017) MP for Ponnani |
23 May 2004 |
22 May 2009 |
4 years, 364 days | Indian Union Muslim League | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | ||
27 | Rao Inderjit Singh (born 1951) MP for Mahendragarh |
22 May 2004 |
29 January 2006 |
1 year, 252 days | Indian National Congress | ||||
28 | Anand Sharma (born 1953) Rajya Sabha MP for Himachal Pradesh |
29 January 2006 |
22 May 2009 |
3 years, 113 days | |||||
29 | Preneet Kaur (born 1944) MP for Patiala |
28 May 2009 |
26 May 2014 |
4 years, 363 days | Manmohan II | ||||
30 | Shashi Tharoor (born 1956) MP for Thiruvananthapuram |
28 May 2009 |
19 April 2010 |
326 days | |||||
31 | E. Ahamed (1938–2017) MP for Malappuram |
19 January 2011 |
26 May 2014 |
3 years, 127 days | Indian Union Muslim League | ||||
32 | ADC
(born 1950) MP for Ghaziabad |
26 May 2014 |
30 May 2019 |
5 years, 4 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | ||
33 | M. J. Akbar (born 1951) Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh |
5 July 2016 |
17 October 2018 |
2 years, 104 days | |||||
34 | V. Muraleedharan (born 1958) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra |
31 May 2019 |
Incumbent | 4 years, 329 days | Modi II | ||||
35 | Meenakshi Lekhi (born 1967) MP for New Delhi |
7 July 2021 |
2 years, 292 days | ||||||
36 | Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (born 1952) MP for Inner Manipur |
Deputy Ministers
No. | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) |
Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From | To | Period | |||||||
Deputy Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations | |||||||||
1 | B. V. Keskar (1903–1984) MCA for Madras |
7 December 1948 |
26 January 1950 |
1 year, 50 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | ||
Deputy Minister of External Affairs | |||||||||
(1) | B. V. Keskar (1903–1984) MCA for Madras |
31 January 1950 |
13 May 1952 |
2 years, 103 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | ||
2 | Anil Kumar Chanda (1906–1976) MP for Birbhum |
12 August 1952 |
17 April 1957 |
4 years, 262 days | Nehru II | ||||
17 April 1957 |
1 May 1957 |
Nehru III | |||||||
3 | Lakshmi N. Menon (1899–1994) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar |
17 April 1957 |
10 April 1962 |
4 years, 358 days | |||||
4 | Dinesh Singh (1925–1995) MP for Pratapgarh |
8 May 1962 |
27 May 1964 |
3 years, 261 days | Nehru IV | ||||
27 May 1964 |
9 June 1964 |
Nanda I | Gulzarilal Nanda | ||||||
15 June 1964 |
11 January 1966 |
Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | ||||||
11 January 1966 |
24 January 1966 |
Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda | ||||||
5 | Surendra Pal Singh (1917–2009) MP for Bulandshahr |
18 March 1967 |
18 March 1971 |
5 years, 352 days | Indira II | Indira Gandhi | |||
Indian National Congress (R) | |||||||||
18 March 1971 |
5 February 1973 |
Indira III | |||||||
6 | Bipinpal Das (1923–2005) Rajya Sabha MP for Assam |
17 October 1974 |
24 March 1977 |
2 years, 158 days | |||||
7 | Digvijay Singh (1955–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar |
28 November 1990 |
21 June 1991 |
205 days | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar |
See also
References