Hardeep Singh Puri (born 15 February 1952[citation needed]) is an Indian politician and former diplomat who is serving as 33rd Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas since 2021.[1]
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He is a 1974 batch Indian Foreign Service officer who served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013.[2][3]
Puri joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in January 2014, and became a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in November 2020.[4][5] Earlier in May 2019, he had taken charge as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.[5]
Previously, Puri has served as the chairman of the United Nations Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee from January 2011 to February 2013; and joined International Peace Institute as a senior advisor in June 2013.[5] He presents Smart Solutions Challenge & Inclusive Cities Awards 2022.[6]
Early life & education
editHardeep Singh Puri was born in Delhi. His father was a civil servant, and he attended boarding schools in India as his father was posted in countries where there were no options for English-language education.[2] He is an alumnus of The Frank Anthony Public School, New Delhi.[7] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Master of Arts in History from the Hindu College, Delhi. He then worked as a lecturer of History at St. Stephen's College, Delhi.[8]
Career
editCivil service
editHardeep Puri has served as Joint secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of External Affairs from 1994 to 1997, and from 1999 to 2002. He has also served as Joint secretary to the Government of India in Ministry of Defence from 1997 to 1999. He was India's ambassador to Brazil. He later served as Secretary to the Government of India (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2009 to 2013.
Puri has been stationed at important diplomatic posts in Brazil, where he was ambassador, Japan, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom where he was Deputy High Commissioner. Between 1988 and 1991, he was the Coordinator of the UNDP/UNCTAD Multilateral Trade Negotiations Project to help Developing Countries in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.[9]
United Nations
editHe also served as the chairman of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee from January 2011 to February 2013, and as President of the United Nations Security Council in August 2011, and, again, in November 2012.[10][11]
Politics
editAmbassador Puri joined the International Peace Institute as a senior advisor in June 2013.[12] He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in January 2014, expressing admiration for the party's approach to national security.[13][14]
He is serving as the Member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh from 2018. Puri was inducted into the cabinet as the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, after Venkaiah Naidu was elevated to the post of Vice President of India in 2017. In May 2019, he contested from Amritsar as a BJP Candidate, but lost to Gurjeet Singh Aujla of the Congress.[15]
In May 2019, Puri became the Minister of State (with Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.[16]
In July 2021, he was promoted to the post of Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, along with Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs in the Second Modi ministry when there was a cabinet overhaul.[17]
His ministry also holds the credit for the launch of the Central Vista Project, the physical revamp of Parliament of India in New Delhi. Even though the mission received baclashes and comments from the opposition, the project continued with the completion projected by 2024.[18]
In March 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he was sent to the neighboring nation of Ukraine, Budapest in Hungary to assist coordination efforts. He was one of the minister in a special envoy of four ministers and successfully brought back 6711 students to India, following the Operation Ganga initiative.[19]
Electoral performance
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INC | Gurjeet Singh Aujla | 445,032 | 51.78 |  1.69
| |
| BJP | Hardeep Singh Puri | 3,45,406 | 40.19 | 9.74
| |
| AAP | Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal | 20,087 | 2.34 |  12.44
| |
| CPI | Daswinder Kaur | 16,335 | 1.90 | 0.14
| |
| NOTA | None of the Above | 8,763 | 1.02 | 0.06
| |
| Majority | 99,626 | 11.59 | 8.05
| ||
| Turnout | 8,60,582 | 57.07 | 13.32
| ||
| INC hold | Swing | ||||
Personal life
editHardeep Singh Puri is married to Ambassador Lakshmi Puri, of the Indian Foreign Service, and, later, the United Nations cadre, who is a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and a former Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. They have two daughters. His brother, Pradeep Puri, is an IAS officer of the 1979 batch, who played an instrumental role in the construction of the DND Flyway.
Honours
edit
Brazil: Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco (1 December 2022)[20]
Books, research papers and journals
editHardeep is a published author of several books, research papers, and journals. Included below is a selection of his works:
Books
edit- Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos (Publisher: HarperCollins, 2016; ISBN 978-9351777595)
- Delusional Politics: Back To The Future (Publisher: Penguin Viking, 2018; ISBN 978-0670090259)
Articles
edit- "Libya: Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and the Ghost of Rwanda" (Publisher: The Globalist, 2016)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Hardeep Singh Puri given charge of Petroleum and Urban Development Ministries". Times Now. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Welcome To IANS Live - NATION". IANS Live. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ "Hardeep Puri to be next Permanent Representative of India to UN". One India News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ "Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, nine others elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh". First-Post. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "WHO IS HARDEEP SINGH PURI". Business Standard India. 24 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Hardeep S. Puri presents Smart Solutions Challenge & Inclusive Cities Awards 2022". Ibcworldnews. September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "Know About Him". Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- ^ "Stephen's wins war of words". The Times of India. 23 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ "UNECE Homepage". www.unece.org. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ "CTC Chairman Biographical Note". United Nations. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ "SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS IN ABYEI". United nations. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ "Hardeep Singh Puri". International Peace Institute. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Ex-UN envoy Hardeep Singh Puri joins BJP". @businessline. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ Kaushal, Akshat (11 January 2014). "I admire the BJP's approach towards national security: Hardeep Singh Puri". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ PTI (29 October 2022). "Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri To Inaugurate India Pavilion At ADIPEC". news.abplive.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ "PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers", Live Mint, 31 May 2019, archived from the original on 2 June 2019, retrieved 3 June 2019
- ^ "Modi cabinet rejig: Full list of new ministers". India Today. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ "Central Vista Redevelopment: CPWD to seek assistance to track progress". Hindustan Times. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ "Hardeep Singh Puri reaches Delhi with last batch of students from Budapest". Deccan Chronicle. 7 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Conferment of Order of Rio Branco on foreign nationals". 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
External links
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