Hardeep Singh Puri is a renowned Indian politician, former diplomat, and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has had an illustrious career serving in various capacities in the Indian government, United Nations, and other international organizations. This article will delve into the life of Hardeep Singh Puri, including his age, caste, wife, children, family, and more.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Profession(s) | Politician & Former IFS Officer |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet & inches– 5’ 9” |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
| Civil Service | |
| Service | Indian Foreign Service (IFS) |
| Batch | 1974 |
| Diplomatic Journey | • Third Secretary (Language Trainee) and Second Secretary (Political & Commercial) in the Embassy of India, Tokyo from 1976 to 1978 • Undersecretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 1979 to 1981 • First Secretary of Permanent Mission of India to GATT, Geneva from 1984 to 1988 • Coordinator of the UNDP/UNCTAD Multilateral Trade Negotiations Project to help developing countries in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations from 1988 to 1991 • Director (Foreign Secretary’s Office) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India from 1991 to 1992 • Joint Secretary (Americas) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India from 1992 to 1994 • Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Defence from 1994 to 1997 • Joint Secretary (Europe West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India from 1997 to 1999 • Ambassador/Deputy High Commission of India to the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2000 • Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva from 2002 to 2005 • Ambassador of India to Brazil from 2006 to 2008 • Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India from 2008 to 2009 • Ambassador & Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, New York from May 2009 to March 2013  • Chairman of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee from January 2011 to February 2012 • President of the United Nations Security Council in August 2011 and November 2012 • Retired as an IFS officer on 28 February 2013 |
| Politics | |
| Political Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (January 2014-Present)
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| Political Journey | • Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in January 2014 • Elected as a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Uttar Pradesh in by-elections in January 2018 • Appointed as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Commerce and Industry in September 2017  • Contested the 2019 General election from the Amritsar constituency as a BJP candidate and lost to Gurjeet Singh Aujla of the Congress  • Elected as the Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh on 26 November 2020  • Appointed as the Minister of State (with Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation from 30 May 2019 to 7 July 2021 • Appointed as the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs during the Cabinet reshuffle in July 2021  |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 15 February 1952 (Friday) |
| Age (as of 2022) | 70 Years |
| Birthplace | Delhi, India |
| Zodiac sign | Aquarius |
| Signature |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Delhi, India |
| School | The Frank Anthony Public School, Delhi |
| College/University | Hindu College, University of Delhi |
| Educational Qualification(s) | • Bachelor of Arts in History [1] • Master of Arts in History (1973) [2] |
| Religion | Sikhism [3] |
| Caste | Khatri [4] |
| Address(es) | Permanent: B-17, First Floor, Westend Colony, Rao Tula Ram Marg, New Delhi 110057 Current: Ro- 6 Akbar Road New Delhi -110011 |
| Controversies | • In July 2021, Santanu Sen, an All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP (Rajya Sabha), accused Hardeep of physically assaulting him during a Rajya Sabha session. According to Santanu, when Santanu snatched and tore the paper from Ashwini Vaishnaw’s hands, Puri gave him rude gestures. [5] During a press conference, Sen said, “The union minister (Puri) threatened and abused me. He was about to assault me when my other colleagues came to my rescue.”• In June 2021, activist and journalist Saket Gokhale tweeted about a property purchased by Hardeep’s wife (Lakshmi) in Switzerland, raising doubts regarding the assets of Hardeep Singh Puri and his wife. In the tweet, he tagged Nirmala Sitharaman and demanded an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate. In his tweet, he wrote, “If an ex-Indian civil servant who’s with the BJP bought an overseas house worth $2 million (with no income other than salary) while in service, will ED investigate it?” After the tweet went viral, Puri’s wife filed a defamation suit against Saket at the Delhi High Court, asking him to delete the tweet and seeking Rs. 5 crore damages from him. In the early July hearing, the high court asked Saket to delete the tweet, which he refused. In the mid-July 2021 hearing, the high court demanded Saket delete the tweet and also directed Twitter to take down the tweets if Saket did not do it. [6]• In June 2021, he courted controversy when he called out Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and accused the Congress government in Punjab and Rajasthan of extortion by selling Covid-19 vaccines to private hospitals, demanding an investigation into the matter. Puri went on to accuse the Gandhi family of condemning the Modi government over vaccine supply when their government indulged in the alleged profiteering. Hardeep did not stop there, and he ranted about Congress fueling vaccine hesitancy and spreading lies over the 2020 Indian agriculture acts. [7]• In January 2021, Hardeep Sing Puri slammed the politicians Akhilesh Yadav, Jairam Ramesh, and Shashi Tharoor via Twitter after they raised questions regarding the approval given to Bharat Biotech’s vaccine while its third phase trial was ongoing. In his tweet, Puri wrote, “Our in-house cynics M/s Jairam, Tharoor & Akhilesh are behaving true to form. They first questioned the valor of our soldiers & are now unhappy that the two vaccines to get the DCGI nod are made in India. Clearly, they are on a quest for permanent political marginalization.” After Hardeep’s tweet, Jairam tweeted back by referring him (Puri) to the two politicians close to Adolf Hitler. [8] Jairam Wrote, “So says the in-house Goebbels-cum-Albert Speer”• In early July 2021, Priyanka Gandhi was asked to vacate her government accommodation at 35 Lodhi Estate, which was provided to her as a Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee, by the Union Government within a month. Upon receiving the notice, Priyanka agreed to leave the accommodation within the said time. However, several Congress leaders were in opposition to it, dubbing it a ‘frustrated attempt’ of the Union Government. In mid-July, media reports regarding her request for the extension of her stay at the residence surfaced, which Priyanka refuted on Twitter. In response to Gandhi’s tweet regarding her refusal, Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, “Facts speak for themselves! A powerful Congress leader with much clout in the Party called me on 4 July 2020 at 12:05 pm to request that 35, Lodhi Estate be allotted to another INC MP so that Priyanka Vadra can stay on.” In her response to Puri’s claim, Priyanka tweeted, “If someone called you Mr. Puri, I thank them for their concern and thank you for your consideration as well but it still does not change the facts: I have made no such request, and I am making no such request. As I said, I will be vacating the house by the 1st of August..1/2” Their bickering did not end, as Hardeep tweeted that a person on the top of Congress hierarchy called Puri on her family’s behalf, and in good faith, the government decided to extend her two-month stay at the residence. [9]• In November 2019, while campaigning for BJP for the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, Hardeep Singh Puri said that BJP would win the election to make Manoj Tiwari the Chief Minister. In his speech, he said, “Manoj Tiwari ke netritwa mein hum election ladne ja rahe hain aur inko hum chief minister bana kar hi chorenge” “Translation: Under the leadership of Manoj Tiwari, we are going to contest Assembly elections and we will ensure that he becomes the chief minister).” Following his statement, several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders began trolling BJP by congratulating Tiwari on Twitter for having declared a chief ministerial candidate for Delhi. In his explanation of the statement, he said that BJP was looking forward to winning the elections under Tiwari’s leadership as he was the Delhi BJP President. [10] In his tweet, he wrote, “BJP is moving towards a victory in Delhi. The party has not named anyone as the CM face. Shri Manoj Tiwari is the Delhi BJP president. The party is working enthusiastically under his leadership. My statement meant that BJP will win the upcoming elections with a heavy majority under his leadership.” • On 17 August 2022, hours after his tweet about shifting Rohingya migrants from Myanmar to EWS flats in Delhi, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a strong denial and said that no such provision for Rohingyas was planned by the ministry. [11] |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri (IFS; former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women)
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| Parents | Father– Bhagat Singh Puri (IFS officer) Mother– Kundan Puri  |
| Children | He has two daughters.
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| Siblings | Brother– Pradeep Puri (IAS officer of the 1979 batch) |
| Favorites | |
| Restaurant | Pindi Restaurant in Delhi |
| Politician | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Poet | Maithili Sharan Gupt |
| Singer | Lata Mangeshkar |
| Novelist | Toni Morrison |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | Honda City SVMT |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (approx.) | Rs. 1.96 crore (for the year 2017-2018) [12] |
| Assets/Properties | As of 2019, his movable assets (including bank deposits, bonds, debentures, shares, and jewelry) were Rs. 5.31 crore, and his immovable assets were Rs. 28.72 crores. [13] |
| Net Worth (approx.) | Rs. 34.05 crore (as of 2019) [14] |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Hardeep Singh Puri
- Hardeep Singh Puri was born on 15 February 1952 in Delhi, India. He studied at Hindu College, University of Delhi, and then went on to complete his post-graduation in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.
- He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974 and served in various capacities at Indian missions in Tokyo, Colombo, and Geneva, among others. He was also India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2009 to 2013.
- Hardeep Singh Puri is a prolific writer and has authored several books, including “Delhi: Adrift and Beyond”, “Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos”, and “Kashmir 1947: Rival Versions of History”.
- He is also a recipient of several awards and honors, including the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors, for his contributions to the field of diplomacy.
- Apart from his diplomatic career, Hardeep Singh Puri has also been involved in several social and philanthropic initiatives. He is a trustee of the Gandhi Peace Foundation and the India International Centre and has also been associated with organizations like UNICEF and the World Wildlife Fund.
- Hardeep Singh Puri joined politics in 2017 and was appointed as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs in the Government of India. In 2019, he was also given charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, before being appointed as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas in July 2021.