Arun Goel
Indian Ambassador to Croatia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arun Goel (born 7 December 1962) is an Indian diplomat and former IAS officer who is has served as Indian Ambassador to Croatia since 3 October 2024.[1][2] He was previously an Election Commissioner of India from 2022 to 2024.
Arun Goel | |
|---|---|
Goel in 2024 | |
| Ambassador of India to Croatia | |
| Assumed office 3 October 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Raj Kumar Srivastava |
| Election Commissioner of India | |
| In office 19 November 2022 – 9 March 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Rajiv Kumar |
| Succeeded by | Sukhbir Singh Sandhu |
| Secretary of Heavy Industry of India | |
| In office 30 December 2019 – 18 November 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Asha Ram Sihag |
| Succeeded by | Kamran Rizvi |
| Secretary of Ministry of Culture | |
| In office 10 August 2018 – 30 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Raghvendra Singh |
| Succeeded by | Anand Kumar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 December 1962 |
| Alma mater | Punjabi University Churchill College, Cambridge |
Education
Goel completed his Msc in mathematics from Punjabi University and a master's degree in development economics from Churchill College, Cambridge.[3][4]
Career
Goel served as the Culture Secretary of India from 2018 to 2019. He served as a secretary of Heavy Industry of India from December 2019 to November 2022.[5][6]
On 19 November 2022, he was appointed as Election Commissioner of India and assumed charge on 21 November 2022.[7][8][9][10] His appointment has been challenged in the Indian Supreme Court due to procedural concerns but was given clearance on 3 August 2023.[11][12][13] Thereafter, on 9 March 2024 he resigned from the post for personal reasons.[14][15]
On 9 March 2024, Goel tendered his resignation from the position of Election Commissioner of India, which was accepted by the President.[16] His resignation came just before the announcement of the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaving Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the sole election commissioner. A normally three-member Election Commission already had a vacancy, whereas, his tenure was till 6 December 2027.
He was appointed the Indian Ambassador to Croatia on 3 October 2024.[1][2] The Indian embassy in Zagreb was vandalized by Sikh separatists in 2026, naming Goel as part of broader Indo-European efforts to deny their movement.[17]