University of Delhi (BA) Tufts University (MA, MALD, PhD)
Occupations
Writer
diplomat
politician
former international civil servant
Years active
1978–present
Works
Bibliography
Political party
Indian National Congress (2008–present)
Spouses
Tilottama Mukherji
(m. 1981, divorced)
Christa Giles
(m. 2007; div. 2010)
Sunanda Pushkar
(m. 2010; died 2014)
Children
2
Awards
Full list
Honours
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2004) Encomienda de la Orden Española de Carlos III (2012) Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (2022)
Minister of State for Human Resource Development
In office 28 October 2012 – 26 May 2014
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Minister
Kapil Sibal M. M. Pallam Raju
Preceded by
Daggubati Purandeswari
Succeeded by
Upendra Kushwaha
Minister of State for External Affairs
In office 28 May 2009 – 18 April 2010
Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Minister
S. M. Krishna
Preceded by
Anand Sharma
Succeeded by
E. Ahamed
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 May 2009
Preceded by
Pannyan Raveendran
Constituency
Thiruvananthapuram
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
In office 1 June 2002 – 9 February 2007
Secretary General
Kofi Annan
Preceded by
Position established
Succeeded by
Kiyotaka Akasaka
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Information Technology
In office 13 September 2019 – 12 September 2022
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers
In office 23 March 2023 – Incumbent
Preceded by
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi
Founder-Chairman of the All India Professionals Congress
In office 1 August 2017 – 15 November 2023
Preceded by
Position established
Succeeded by
Praveen Chakravarty
Writing career
Language
English
Period
Postmodern
Genre
Novel
short story
non-fiction
Subject
Economics
history
governance
foreign policy
geopolitics
Years active
1964–present
Notable works
The Great Indian Novel
India: From Midnight to the Millennium
Why I Am a Hindu
Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India
Website
shashitharoor.in
Shashi Tharoor (Malayalam pronunciation:[ʃɐʃit̪ɐɾuːr], SHUH-sheethǝ-ROOR; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, public intellectual, writer, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is the present Chairman of the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers.[1] He was formerly an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and unsuccessfully ran for the post of Secretary-General in 2006. Founder-Chairman of All India Professionals Congress,[2] he formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and on Informational Technology. He has about two dozen titles to his credit and was awarded by World Economic Forum as "Global Leader of Tomorrow".
Born in London and raised in India, Tharoor graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, in 1975 and culminated his studies in 1978 with a doctorate in International Relations and Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. At the age of 22, he was the youngest person at the time to receive such an honour from the Fletcher School. From 1978 to 2007, Tharoor was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001. He announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 selection for U.N. Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon.[3]
In 2009, Tharoor began his political career by joining the Indian National Congress and successfully represented the party from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala by winning in the Lok Sabha elections and becoming a member of parliament thrice. During the Congress-led UPA government, Tharoor served as Minister of State for External Affairs. A non-loyalist of the Gandhis, Tharoor was defeated by Mallikarjun Kharge to be elected as party president in 2022.[4] He is currently a member of the Congress Working Committee, which is highest decision making body of the Indian National Congress.[5]
A Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Tharoor has authored many works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981.[6][7] Popular for his command of the English language, Tharoor was the most followed Indian on Twitter before being overtaken by Narendra Modi.[8]
^Alawadhi, Neha (14 September 2019). "Govt forms IT Standing Committee, names Shashi Tharoor as chairperson". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
^"All India Professionals Congress – Indian National Congress". Indian National Congress. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
^Shukla, Saurabh (16 October 2006). "UN top job: Why India's candidate Shashi Tharoor had to drop out of the race". India Today. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
^"Tharoor vs Gehlot: A battle of opposites for Congress president's post". Onmanorama. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
^The Hindu, 20.08.2023
^"The 29-Letter Word That Shashi Tharoor Used To Announce His Book on PM". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
^"Hindi not our natural, national language: Shashi Tharoor in The Paradoxical Prime Minister". The Telegraph. Kolkota. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
^"Narendra Modi overtakes Shashi Tharoor, becomes most followed Indian politician on Twitter". India Today. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
ShashiTharoor (Malayalam pronunciation: [ʃɐʃi t̪ɐɾuːr], SHUH-shee thǝ-ROOR; born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician, public intellectual, writer, and...
of former International diplomat serving under the UN and politician ShashiTharoor. She was a sales director in the Dubai-based TECOM Investments, and...
from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022. "ShashiTharoor resigns, PM accepts". Times of India. 19 April 2010. Archived from the...
Mallikarjun Kharge won the election amassing 7,897 votes compared to 1,072 of ShashiTharoor. The election was triggered by resignation of Rahul Gandhi as party...
book written by the senior leader of the Indian National Congress, ShashiTharoor, about the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The book was released...
Darkness: The British Empire in India, is a work of non-fiction by ShashiTharoor, an Indian politician and diplomat, on the effects of British colonial...
Congress minister ShashiTharoor held indirect free equity in the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL franchise, ultimately leading to Tharoor's resignation. The...
Clinton. ShashiTharoor has been one of the most influential voices in Indian politics as he was the most followed politician until 2013. Tharoor still writes...
fundraising campaign that was called 'Ramya Haridas Challenge Fund.' ShashiTharoor also shared her campaign appeal on his Facebook page. During her election...
2022, in which Mallikarjun Kharge became the new president defeating ShashiTharoor. List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress List of state...
were ShashiTharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge. Mallikarjun Kharge won this election. He secured 7,897 out of the 9,385 votes polled. His rival, Shashi Tharoor...
from 1999 to 2004 and Rural development from 1978 to 1980. He defeated ShashiTharoor in the 2022 Indian National Congress presidential election. He is known...
electors 1,371,427 (2019) Reservation None Member of Parliament 17th Lok Sabha Incumbent ShashiTharoor Party Indian National Congress Elected year 2019...
Why I Am a Hindu is a 2018 book by Indian politician ShashiTharoor. In the book, Tharoor writes about the history of Hinduism and its core tenets, as...
politician from Karnataka, India Shashi Shrestha, Nepalese politician, Central Committee member of Janamorcha Nepal ShashiTharoor (born 1956), Indian Minister...
2005 (2005)–2009 (2009) Preceded by P. K. Vasudevan Nair Succeeded by ShashiTharoor Constituency Thiruvananthapuram Personal details Born (1945-12-22) 22...
"Congress leader ShashiTharoor files defamation case against Republic TV's Arnab Goswami". The Indian Express. 26 May 2017. "ShashiTharoor files defamation...
took over as chairperson of the All India Professionals' Congress from ShashiTharoor on 15 November 2023. He is the Chairman of the Data Analytics department...
irregularities in its ownership and functioning surfaced and led to ShashiTharoor, India's Minister of State for External Affairs to resign. However,...
Rape Law | Legislation in India | Delhi Gang Rape | Victim Real Name | ShashiTharoor". 3 January 2013. "The protest is a forum to stand up for one's rights"...