Hardeep Singh Puri

Born in Daryaganj, Delhi, on 15 February 1952, Hardeep Singh Puri came into a family of refugees. His parents, Sardar Bhagat Singh Puri and Sardarni Kundan Puri, began their lives in a refugee camp, facing numerous hardships. Despite these challenges, they placed great importance on education, ensuring their children received a good schooling.

Puri's father was a diplomat, serving in various countries. Due to the lack of English-language education in these countries, Puri stayed with his grandparents and attended boarding schools in India, including The Frank Anthony Public School in Delhi. He spent parts of his early childhood in Bonn, Germany, and a few teenage years in Birmingham, UK.

During his college days at Hindu College in Delhi, Puri developed a keen interest in student politics. He was elected Prime Minister of the Hindu College Parliament. Recognising the close relationship between law and politics, he studied law, aiming to effectively contribute to governance through politics. He was actively involved with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during his time at Hindu College.

Before joining the civil services, Puri worked as a lecturer in History at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, maintaining his engagement in student politics throughout his tenure.

Puri, a distinguished Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1974 batch, served in pivotal roles within the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, marking a career that spanned nearly 39 years.

During his tenure as First Secretary (Political) at the Indian High Commission in Colombo, Puri played a crucial role in 1987 by visiting Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula and engaging with LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran, successfully persuading him to enter talks with New Delhi following the signing of the India-Sri Lanka Accord.

Between 1992 and 1994, as Joint Secretary (Americas) at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, Puri transformed bilateral relations in areas such as security and strategic cooperation, human rights, science and technology cooperation, and economic partnerships. He also led the Indian delegation in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of Indo-US dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation.

Puri made history as the first IFS officer to become Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi, serving from 1994 to 1997. He headed the Defence Planning and Coordination Division, overseeing Army-Air Force-Navy cooperation and coordinating India’s international defence cooperation efforts.

Puri served as the Deputy Ambassador of India to the UK from 1999 to 2002. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in establishing 'Friends of India' groups within all major political parties in the UK. He also launched initiatives to broaden bilateral economic ties by engaging with various regions across the country.

In 2002, Puri was appointed as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, a position he held until 2005. During this period, he facilitated the adoption of the first-ever public health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. He was instrumental in the adoption of the Sao Paulo Consensus at UNCTAD XI, which aimed to assist developing countries in participating equitably in the global economy.

Puri also contributed to the World Summit on Information Societies in 2003 and 2005, focusing on reducing the global digital divide by improving internet access in developing nations. Additionally, he played a significant role in the establishment of the Human Rights Council, the development agenda of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the UNGA64 agenda, which led to the creation of UN Women.

Puri has a longstanding association with trade-related matters and has specialized in this field. Early in his career, he joined the UN in Geneva for a UNDP project supporting developing countries during the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations. He served as a coordinator for the Multilateral Trade Negotiations Project of the UN Development Program and the UN Conference on Trade and Development, advising developing countries during the Uruguay Round. In 2003, Puri was appointed as the head of several Dispute Settlement Panels of GATT and the WTO.

Puri served as an Ambassador to Brazil from 2006 to 2008, where he enhanced bilateral relations, including trade, investment, technology, defence, and energy cooperation. His tenure saw the inception of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) initiative and participation in BRICs dialogue.

From 2009 to 2013, Puri served as India's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York. In August 2011, he was elected President of the United Nations Security Council and later chaired its Counter-Terrorism Committee from 2011 to 2012.

Upon retiring from the Indian Foreign Service on 28 February 2013, Puri joined the International Peace Institute in New York as Vice President. He later became the Secretary-General of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism.

Driven by a passion for public service, Puri entered politics in 2013, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2017, he was appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs. His portfolio expanded in May 2019 to include Civil Aviation and Commerce and Industry.

Elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in 2020, Puri was appointed Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs in July 2021. Following the 2024 general elections, he joined the Modi 3.0 cabinet as the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Puri is a distinguished author and seasoned diplomat, having penned three notable books: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: Decoding Dominant Narratives (Konark Publications, July 2019), Delusional Politics: Back To The Future (Penguin Random House, January 2019), and Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos (Harper Collins, September 2016).

On a personal note, Puri met his wife, Lakshmi Puri, while serving as an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer. She is also an accomplished IFS officer, and has served as an Ambassador, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN, and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women in New York. Together, they have raised two daughters who have grown into independent and empowered women.