Hardeep Singh Puri (born 15 February 1952[1]) is anIndianpolitician and retireddiplomat ofIndian Foreign Service who is serving as theMinister of Petroleum and Natural Gas since 2021.[2]
He is a 1974 batchIndian Foreign Serviceofficer who served as thePermanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013.[3][4] Puri served as the chairman of theUnited Nations Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee from January 2011 to February 2013; and joined International Peace Institute as a senior advisor in June 2013.[5]
Puri joined theBharatiya Janata Party in January 2014, and became aMember of Parliament in theRajya Sabha fromUttar Pradesh in November 2020.[6] Earlier in May 2019, he had taken charge as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.[5][7]
Hardeep Singh Puri was born on 15 February 1952 inDaryaganj,Delhi.[8] He was educated with aBA in history and anMA in political science at theHindu College, a constituent college of theDelhi University.[8][9] Drawn to student politics, Puri was elected as the prime minister of the college's student parliament.[8]
Hardeep Puri joined theIndian Foreign Service in 1974, and has served asJoint secretary to the Government of India in theMinistry of External Affairs from 1994 to 1997, and from 1999 to 2002. He has also served asJoint secretary to the Government of India inMinistry of Defence from 1997 to 1999. He was India's ambassador to Brazil. He later served asSecretary to the Government of India (Economic Relations) in theMinistry of External Affairs from 2009 to 2013.
Puri has been stationed at important diplomatic posts inBrazil, where he was ambassador,Japan,Sri Lanka, and theUnited Kingdom where he was Deputy High Commissioner. Between 1988 and 1991, he was the Coordinator of theUNDP/UNCTAD Multilateral Trade Negotiations Project to help Developing Countries in theUruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.[10]
He also served as the chairman of theUnited Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee from January 2011 to February 2013, and asPresident of the United Nations Security Council in August 2011, and again in November 2012.[11][12]
Hardeep Singh Puri joined theInternational Peace Institute as a senior advisor in June 2013.[13] He joined theBharatiya Janata Party in January 2014, expressing admiration for the party's approach tonational security.[14][15]
He is serving as theMember of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh from 2018. Puri was inducted into the cabinet as theMinister of Housing and Urban Affairs, after Venkaiah Naidu was elevated to the post of Vice President of India in 2017. In May 2019, he contested fromAmritsar as a BJP Candidate, but lost toGurjeet Singh Aujla of the Congress.[16]
In May 2019, Puri became the Minister of State (with Independent Charge) forCivil Aviation and Minister of State forCommerce and Industry.[17]
In July 2021, he was promoted to the post ofUnion Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, along withUnion Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs in theSecond Modi ministry when there was a cabinet overhaul.[18]
In March 2022, during theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Puri served as part of a special four-minister envoy and successfully brought 6,711 students back to India underOperation Ganga.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INC | Gurjeet Singh Aujla | 445,032 | 51.78 |  1.69 | |
| BJP | Hardeep Singh Puri | 345,406 | 40.19 | 9.74 | |
| AAP | Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal | 20,087 | 2.34 |  12.44 | |
| CPI | Daswinder Kaur | 16,335 | 1.90 | 0.14 | |
| NOTA | None of the Above | 8,763 | 1.02 | 0.06 | |
| Majority | 99,626 | 11.59 | 8.05 | ||
| Turnout | 860,582 | 57.07 | 13.32 | ||
| INChold | Swing | ||||
| Position | Party | Constituency | From | To | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (1st Term) | BJP | Uttar Pradesh | 8 January 2018 | 25 November 2020 | 2 years, 322 days | |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (2nd Term) | 26 November 2020 | 25 November 2026 | 5 years, 364 days | |||
Hardeep Singh Puri is married to AmbassadorLakshmi Puri, of the Indian Foreign Service,[1] and, later, theUnited Nations cadre, who is a formerAssistant Secretary-General of theUnited Nations and a former Deputy Executive Director ofUN Women.[20] They have two daughters. His brother, Pradeep Puri, is anIAS officer of the 1979 batch, who played an instrumental role in the construction of theDND Flyway.[21]
On 1 December 2022, Hardeep Singh Puri was awarded the Grand Cross of theOrder of Rio Branco.[22]
Hardeep is a published author of several books, research papers, and journals. Included below is a selection of his works:
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