Sujatha Singh
Sujatha Singh (born July 1954) is a retired Indian diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976 and served as the Foreign Secretary of India from August 2013 to January 2015.[1][2]
Prior to her appointment as Foreign Secretary, Singh held key diplomatic postings including Ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2012 and High Commissioner to Australia from 2007 to 2009, along with assignments in Kabul, the United Nations in Geneva, and various Indian missions in Europe and Africa.[1][3] Her tenure as Foreign Secretary, initially set for two years, was abruptly curtailed in January 2015 by the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who replaced her with S. Jaishankar, citing misalignment with evolving foreign policy priorities.[4][5] This decision drew public criticism from Singh, who described it as damaging to her reputation and record, highlighting tensions between bureaucratic continuity and executive vision in India's diplomatic apparatus.[6] As the third woman to serve as Foreign Secretary, her career exemplifies the challenges faced by female officers in ascending to India's highest diplomatic ranks amid institutional and political shifts.[7]