Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor MP Shashi Tharoor Member of Parliament – Lok Sabha Incumbent Assumed office 2009 Preceded by Pannyan Raveendran Constituency Thiruvananthapuram Minister of State for Human Resource Development In office 28 October 2012 – 18 May 2014 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Preceded by Daggubati Purandeswari Minister of State for External Affairs In office 28 May 2009 – 18 April 2010 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Preceded by Anand Sharma Succeeded by E. Ahamed Personal details Born (1956-03-09) 9 March 1956 (age 58) London, United Kingdom Nationality Indian Political party Indian National Congress Spouse(s) Tilottama Mukherji (divorced) Christa Giles (divorced) Sunanda Pushkar (2010 – 2014 (her death)) Children Ishaan, Kanishk Residence New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram Alma mater St. Stephen's College, Delhi (BA) Tufts University (MA, M.A.L.D., PhD) Occupation Writer, Diplomat, Politician Website shashitharoor.in Shashi Tharoor (born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician and writer who has been twice elected Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was previously Minister of State in the Government of India for External Affairs (2009–2010) and Human Resource Development (2012–2014). He is a member of the Indian National Congress and served as an official spokesperson for the party from January to October 2014. Until 2007 he was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001. But after 29 years in service, he announced his departure after coming a close second in the 2006 elections for the Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon. Tharoor is also a well-known award-winning writer, having authored 15 bestselling works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981, all of which are centered on India and its history, culture, film, politics, society, foreign policy, and more. He is also the author of hundreds of columns and articles in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, Newsweek, and The Times of India. He also served for 2 years as Contributing Editor for Newsweek International From 2010–2012 he authored a column in The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle and for most of 2012, till his appointment as Minister, a column in Mail Today; he also writes an internationally syndicated monthly column for Project Syndicate. He has, in the past, authored columns regularly for the Indian Express (1991–93 and 1996–2001), The Hindu (2001–2008), and The Times of India (2007–2009). Tharoor is also a globally recognized speaker on India's economics and politics, as well as on freedom of the press, human rights, Indian culture, and international affairs.