Nirupama Rao

Who is Nirupama Rao?

Nirupama Menon Rao is a 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service officer and was Indian Ambassador to the United States . Prior to this assignment, she had served as the Foreign Secretary of India for a period of 2 years.

In July 2009, she became the second woman to hold the post of Indian Foreign Secretary, the head of the Indian Foreign Service. In her career she has served in several capacities including, Minister of Press Affairs in Washington, Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, stints in the Ministry of External Affairs as Joint Secretary, making her the first woman spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry, Chief of Personnel, Ambassador to Peru and China, and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.