Vikram Misri currently serves as India’s Foreign Secretary, having assumed the office on July 15, 2024. Prior to becoming Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri served as India’s Ambassador to China, Spain, and Myanmar. Additionally, he has served as the Private Secretary to former Prime Ministers Inder Kumar Gujral and Dr. Manmohan Singh, as well as to the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Before becoming Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri also served as India’s Deputy National Security Advisor from January 2022 to June 2024.
Vikram Misri was born on November 7, 1964, into a Kashmiri Hindu family in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He completed his early education at The Scindia School. Following his early schooling, he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in History at Hindu College, University of Delhi. After his graduation, he obtained an MBA degree from the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur. Upon completing his studies, he worked in the advertising sector for approximately three years.
In 1979, he joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS); subsequently, between 1991 and 1996, he served in various capacities at Indian diplomatic missions in Brussels and Tunis. In 1997, he was appointed as the Private Secretary to the then-Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral. Thereafter, he made significant contributions while serving in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs, as well as at several Indian diplomatic missions abroad.
Subsequently, in 2012, he was appointed as the Private Secretary to the then-Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Following Dr. Manmohan Singh’s tenure, when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, Misri was appointed as his Private Secretary as well. In 2014, he was appointed as India’s Ambassador to Spain; subsequently, in 2016, he was appointed as the Ambassador to Myanmar. Finally, in 2019, he was entrusted with the post of Ambassador to China. He served as Ambassador during the India-China clashes from 2020 to 2021 and held several key meetings with senior Chinese officials, including Jianchou, to discuss the tensions.