List of ambassadors of India to the United States

Ambassador of India to the United States
Ambassador of India to the United States
	Emblem of India
	Flag of India
	Incumbent; Vinay Mohan Kwatra; since 13 August 2024
Appointer	President of India
Inaugural holder	Asaf Ali
Formation	1947
Website	Embassy of India, Washington D.C., U.S.

The ambassador of India to the United States is the chief diplomatic representative of India to the United States, housed in the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C.^[1] The current ambassador is Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

AppointerPresident of India

Inaugural holderAsaf Ali

Formation1947

WebsiteEmbassy of India, Washington D.C., U.S.

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Sr. No.	Name	Entered office	Left office	Notes
1st	Asaf Ali	1947	1948	Governor of Odisha (1948–1952) Lawyer and veteran of the Indian independence movement.
2nd	Benegal Rama Rau	1948	1949	4th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1949–1957) Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer.
3rd	Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit	1949	1951	President of the United Nations General Assembly (1953–1954) Governor of Maharashtra (1962–1964) First woman to hold these positions.
4th	Binay Ranjan Sen	1951	1952	Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (1956–67) Played a key role in the global "Freedom from Hunger" campaign.
5th	Gaganvihari Lallubhai Mehta	1952	1958	Chairman of ICICI (1958–1971) Awarded the Padma Vibhushan (1959).
6th	M. C. Chagla	1958	1961	Minister of External Affairs (1966–1967) Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court (1948–1958)
7th	Braj Kumar Nehru	1961	1968	Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (1981–1984) Governor of Gujarat (1984–1986) ICS officer and cousin of Jawaharlal Nehru.
8th	Ali Yavar Jung	1968	1970	Governor of Maharashtra (1970–1976) Vice-Chancellor of Osmania University (1945–1946; 1948–1952).
9th	Lakshmi Kant Jha	1970	1973	Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (1986–1988) Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (1973–1981) Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1967–1970) Secretary to the Prime Minister (1964–1966)
10th	T. N. Kaul	1973	1976	Foreign Secretary (1968–1972) Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1962–1966). ICS officer.
11th	Kewal Singh	1976	1977	Foreign Secretary (1972–1976) Awarded the Padma Vibhushan (1970). ICS officer.
12th	Nanabhoy Palkhivala	1977	1979	Eminent jurist and constitutional expert. Leading figure in the Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala case.
13th	K. R. Narayanan	1980	1984	10th President of India (1997–2002) 9th Vice President of India (1992–1997)
14th	Katyayani Shankar Bajpai	1984	1986	Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (1982–1983) Ambassador to China (1980–1982).
15th	P. K. Kaul	1986	1989	Cabinet Secretary (1985–1986) Finance Secretary (1983–1985) Defence Secretary (1981–1983) IAS officer.
16th	Karan Singh	1989	1990	Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (1965–1967) Union Minister of Education (1973–1977). Titular Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir
17th	Abid Hussain	1990	1992	Member of the Planning Commission (1985–1990). Commerce Secretary (1981–1985) IAS officer.
18th	Siddhartha Shankar Ray	1992	1996	Governor of Punjab (1986–1989) Chief Minister of West Bengal (1972–1977). Minister of Education (1971–1972)
19th	Naresh Chandra	1996	2001	Governor of Gujarat (2004) Cabinet Secretary (1990–1992) Home Secretary (1990) Defence Secretary (1989–1990)
20th	Lalit Mansingh	2001	2004	Foreign Secretary (1999–2001) High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1998–1999)
21st	Ronen Sen	August 2004	March 2009	Negotiated the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (2002–2004) Ambassador to Russia (1992–1998)
22nd	Meera Shankar	2009	2011	India's second woman ambassador to the US. Ambassador to Germany (2005–2009).
23rd	Nirupama Rao	1 August 2011	5 November 2013	Foreign Secretary (2009–2011) Ambassador to China (2006–2009).
24th	Subrahmanyam Jaishankar	1 December 2013	28 January 2015	Minister of External Affairs (2019–Present). Foreign Secretary (2015–2018)
25th	Arun Kumar Singh	6 May 2015	August 2016	Ambassador to France (2013–2015) Ambassador to Israel (2005–2008).
26th	Navtej Sarna	November 2016	20 December 2018	High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (2016) Ambassador to Israel (2008–2012).
27th	Harsh Vardhan Shringla	11 January 2019	11 January 2020^[2]	G20 Chief Coordinator (2022–2023) Foreign Secretary (2020–2022)
28th	Taranjit Singh Sandhu	6 February 2020 ^[3]	31 January 2024	Lieutenant governor of Delhi (2026-Present) High Commissioner to Sri Lanka (2017–2020)
29th	Vinay Mohan Kwatra	13 August 2024	Incumbent	Foreign Secretary (2022–2024) Ambassador to France (2017–2020) and Nepal (2020–2022)

List of ambassadors of India to the United States

List of Indian ambassadors to the United States

See also

References

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Ambassador of India to the United States
Emblem of India
Flag of India
Incumbent Vinay Mohan Kwatra since 13 August 2024
Appointer	President of India
Inaugural holder	Asaf Ali
Formation	1947
Website	Embassy of India, Washington D.C., U.S.