Kumar Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon | |
|---|---|
| 1stForeign Secretary of India | |
| In office 1948–1952 | |
| Monarchs | George VI (until 26 January 1950) |
| Preceded by | SirHugh Weightman |
| Succeeded by | R. K. Nehru |
| Preceded by | SirOlaf Caroe |
| Preceded by | Lt-GenThomas Jacomb Hutton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon (1898-10-18)18 October 1898 |
| Died | 22 November 1982(1982-11-22) (aged 84) Ottapalam,Kerala, India |
| Spouse | Saraswathi |
| Relations | Kesava Pillai of Kandamath |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon Sr.CIEICS (18 October 1898 – 22 November 1982), usually known asK. P. S. Menon, was a diplomat and diarist, a career member of theIndian Civil Service. He was appointed independent India's firstForeign Secretary, serving from 1948 to 1952.
He wasDewan (Prime Minister) ofBharatpur State,Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union from 1952 to 1961, and Ambassador to theRepublic of China before 1948. In 1948, preceding events of theKorean War, the United Nations appointed him the Chairman of the UN Commission on Korea (UNCOK).[1]
Menon's overland trip fromDelhi toChongqing (Chungking) across the Himalayas, theKarakorams and the Pamirs during the Second World War was recorded in his bookDelhi-Chungking: A Travel Diary (1947).[2] He was a signatory on behalf of India at the formation of theUnited Nations. He was a member of theRoyal Central Asian Society.[3]
K. P. S. Menon was born in Kottayam,Travancore,British India (present-dayKerala, India) in 1898. His father Kumara Menon was alawyer fromOttapalam. His mother Janaki Amma came from an aristocratic family nearVellayani,Travancore, niece ofKesava Pillai of Kandamath and cousin of Neyyattinkara N. K. Padmanabha Pillai. Upon her marriage to Kumara Menon, she moved toKottayam to set up house with Kumara Menon who himself had moved away from his family in Ottapalam.[4] The children were also given titles from their father's side . He attendedMadras Christian College and thenUniversity of Oxford,[5] where he was a contemporary of the future Prime MinisterAnthony Eden and served as co-officers of the Asiatic Society. He served as the president of theOxford Majlis Asian Society.[6][page needed] He was admitted to theMiddle Temple on 30 November 1918,[7] but withdrew without beingCalled to the Bar on 15 March 1928.[citation needed]
In 1922, Menon secured the first rank in the combined Civil Services Examination and joined the ICS.[8] He served as Sub-Collector of Tirupattur, Vellore District, then as District Magistrate inTrichy, Agent of the Government of India at Fort Sandeman, now Zhob, in Baluchistan, in theNorth West Frontier Province andCeylon, then asResident of India inHyderabad State. In 1934, he was sent as Crown Representative to investigate the state of Indians inZanzibar, Kenya and Uganda. As Dewan of Bharatpur State, he was appointed a Companion of theOrder of the Indian Empire in theNew Year Honours of 1943.[9] After independence, he was India's firstForeign Secretary from 1948 to 1952, thenAmbassador of India to the Soviet Union, Hungary and Poland from 1952 to 1961, being the last foreigner to see the aliveStalin in person (on 13 February 1953). On retirement, he was a member and later Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission.
Menon married Saraswathi, the daughter ofC. Sankaran Nair.[10] His son, who bore the same name as him, served as envoy to China and his grandsonShivshankar Menon was Ambassador to China, Foreign Secretary and later theNational Security Advisor.[11][12]
Menon was awarded thePadma Bhushan in 1958[13] and theLenin Peace Prize.[5]
Menon's published writings include:[14]
