Ambassador Parvathaneni appointed as India’s permanent representative to UN

New Delhi, Aug 14: Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, a distinguished officer of the Indian Foreign Service from the 1990 batch, has been appointed the next Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York.

Harish, who has built an illustrious career over 30 years, is currently serving as the Indian Ambassador to Germany. He will succeed Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, who retired on June 1, leaving the position vacant until now.

One of Ambassador Harish’s notable assignments was his secondment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), where he served as the Chief of the Policy Analysis Unit at the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza from 2008 to 2012. His deep expertise in Gaza and the region equips him with critical insight as he steps into the role at a time when the United Nations is deeply engaged in deliberations over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Harish took charge as the Indian Ambassador to Germany on November 6, 2021. Before this, he served as the Additional Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, where he led the Economic Diplomacy Division, which was responsible for managing India’s bilateral economic relations with other countries.

Throughout his career, Ambassador Harish has held several key positions, including leading the Multilateral Economic Relations Division and serving as India’s Sous Sherpa for G20, G7, BRICS, and IBSA. His experience also includes roles in the East Asia and External Publicity Divisions of the Ministry of External Affairs. He has also held the position of Joint Secretary and Officer on Special Duty to the Vice President of India.

Since joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1990, Harish has acquired proficiency in Arabic at the American University of Cairo and served in Indian missions in Cairo and Riyadh.

Additionally, he served as the Consul General of India in Houston from July 2012 to March 2016, covering eight states in the South and Southwest of the United States. From April 2016 to June 2019, he was the Ambassador of India to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Ambassador Harish is an accomplished scholar, holding a gold medal in Mechanical Engineering from Osmania University College of Engineering, Hyderabad, and having pursued further studies at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He is married to Parvathaneni Nandita, and the couple has two daughters.