Vikram Misri, who was India’s envoy to China for almost three years till early this month, has been named the next deputy national security adviser.
He will succeed Pankaj Saran, former Indian envoy to Russia and Bangladesh, who demits office on December 31.
Misri was in Beijing during one of the most challenging phases in India’s relationship with China, as a border stand-off has been ongoing for more than 19 months.
Vikram Misri, a career diplomat from the 1989 batch of the Indian Foreign Service, has served as India’s Ambassador to Myanmar and Spain. In 2019, he was appointed as the Ambassador to Beijing and served during a critical period in Indo-China ties.
Mr Misri was a part of several talks held with China after the troops of both countries violently clashed in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, resulting in the first casualties from skirmishes in the region in four decades.
He has served at the Ministry of External Affairs, in the Prime Minister’s Office, and in several Indian missions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.
He was the Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from 2012 to 2014 and continued in the post when Narendra Modi took charge in 2014. Mr Misri served as Private Secretary to PM Modi from May to July 2014. In 1997, he was the Private Secretary to then Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral.
Born in Srinagar, Vikram Misri attended the Scindia School before graduating from Delhi’s Hindu College. He also holds an MBA degree. Before joining the civil services, he had worked in advertising and ad film-making for three years.
