Dr. Shashi Tharoor, former UN Under-Secretary-General for communications and public informations was elected as Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram Constituency (Kerala). When he was announced as the candidate of Congress at TVM skeptics raised eye brows. A bureaucrat who is always found wearing a stylish ties and expensive suits can win from the "orthodox" Kerala ?
Shashi Tharoor was born in London. He studied at Montfort School in Yercaud and Campion School in Mumbai, attended High School at St. Xavier’s Collegiate School in Kolkata, winning a gold medal for the best student in West Bengal State, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi where he stood first in the University, graduating with a record score in History (Honours).
While at St. Stephen’s Tharoor was actively involved in the Debating Society, where he won every single debating prize available, the Quiz Club, which he founded, and the Students’ Union, of which he was the elected President. He then completed a Ph.D. at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Massachusetts, where he also earned two Master’s degrees. His Ph.D. was awarded when he was 22, a Fletcher record.
In 1978, Tharoor began working for the United Nations, serving with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose Singapore office he headed during the “boat people” crisis. He began as a senior official at the United Nations headquarters in New York in 1989, where, until late 1996, he was responsible for peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia.
From January 1997 to July 1998, he was executive assistant to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. He was appointed director of communications and special projects in the office of the Secretary-General, and in January 2001, he was appointed by the Secretary-General as interim head of the Department of Public Information. On 1 June 2002, he was confirmed as the Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information. In this capacity, he was responsible for the communication strategy, enhancing the image and effectiveness of the UN. In 2003, the Secretary-General appointed him to the additional responsibility of United Nations Coordinator for Multilingualism.
Tharoor's was an exceptional UN career, rising as he did from the P-2 level to the highest possible rank of Under-Secretary-General in a mere 23 years. He was privileged to play a key role in some of the major events of his time, from the Vietnamese boat people crisis to the Yugoslav Civil Wars, to serve in both the humanitarian and peace-keeping arenas as well as in the Secretary-General's office[3]. He established a reputation at the Department of Public Information as a reformer[4] and as the UN's most articulate voice for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the work of multilateralism in an increasingly unipolar world.[5]. He took a number of initiatives, ranging from organizing and conducting[6] the first-ever UN seminar on anti-Semitism and also the first-ever UN seminar on Islamophobia[7] to launching an annual list [8] of "Ten Under-Reported Stories the World Ought to Know About" [9].
Tharoor resigned from the post of Under Secretary General on February 9, 2007 and left the UN effective 1 April 2007.
"Winning an election is a great experience. At the same time, I felt humbled by the trust and affection reposed on me by the people," said Mr. Tharoor, who contested on a Congress ticket.
ReplyDeleteMr. Tharoor said his assessment was that two factors contributed to his victory. In the first place, voters were looking for a change. Secondly, they might have seen in his candidature a person who could focus on issues of development rather than indulging in mere sloganeering.
He said his efforts would now be to strive for the development of the state capital by "knocking on every door and thumping every desk in New Delhi for that."
The HINDU
"Winning an election is a great experience. At the same time, I felt humbled by the trust and affection reposed on me by the people," said Mr. Tharoor, who contested on a Congress ticket.
ReplyDeleteMr. Tharoor said his assessment was that two factors contributed to his victory. In the first place, voters were looking for a change. Secondly, they might have seen in his candidature a person who could focus on issues of development rather than indulging in mere sloganeering.
He said his efforts would now be to strive for the development of the state capital by "knocking on every door and thumping every desk in New Delhi for that."
നല്ല മാമ്പഴം കാണുമ്പോൾ പ്രമേഹരോഗി പെട്ടെന്നോർക്കുക തന്റെ കാലിലെ ഉണങ്ങാത്ത മുറിവിനെപ്പറ്റിയാണ്. കീരിക്കാടാ, നിനക്കാണ് അസുഖം.
ReplyDeleteഒന്നുകിൽ വീട്ടുകാർ നിയന്ത്രിക്കണം. അല്ലെങ്കിൽ കിട്ടും റോട്ടിലിട്ടടി.
വെറുതെ കീരിക്കാടനെ കൊണ്ട് കത്തി എടുപ്പിക്കല്ലേ .... ജയിലില് നിന്നും ഇപ്പോള് ഇറങ്ങിയതെ ഉള്ളു ..
ReplyDeleteനീ anonymous ആയതു കൊണ്ടു വെറുതെ വിട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു :)