Shailendra Kumar Singh was an Indian Politician and also a former Governor of Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh. He served as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh from December 2004 to September 2007 and as the Governor of Rajasthan from September 2007 till December 2009.
Singh was the acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Justice J M Panchal, administered the oath of office to Singh. Singh was also Indian Foreign Secretary as well. Before becoming the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Singh was secretary-general of a think tank in Delhi, the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India. Shailendra Kumar Singh became the Governor of Rajasthan in the year 2007 after he left his designation as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Shailendra Kumar Singh had mainly focused his attention on water and IT development. For him the areas of concern were the water supply and desertification.
Early Life of Shailendra Kumar Singh
Shailendra Kumar Singh was born on 24th January 1932 to a nationalist zamindar of the earlier United Provinces. His father was also a former Dewan of Alwar. He was a scholar of St Johns College, Agra. He graduated from there with a Bachelor`s Degree in History, Sanskrit and Hindi. Singh also went to the Agra University and received a Master`s Degree in History and an LLB Degree. Later, he studied Persian and International Law at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Political Career of Shilendra Kumar Singh
Shailendra Kumar Singh began his political career with Indian Foreign Service in 1954. In Arunachal Pradesh, Singh advocated for the inner line permit and restricted area permit required for travel to Arunachal Pradesh to be eliminated. He also initiated the construction of an airport, a railway line and looked after the improvement of the roads to ensure connectivity to the state.
In February 1989, Singh was appointed as the Foreign Secretary of India. Singh was a member of the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York from 1962-68. Shailendra Kumar Singh held various positions during his political career, such as Director of Foreign Trade from 1968-69, Official Spokesman of the Government of India from 1969-74, Ambassador to Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus from 1974-1977 ambassador to Austria from 1982-1985, Ambassador to Afghanistan from 1977-1979 and Ambassador to Pakistan from 1985-89. Shailendra Kumar Singh also held the personal rank of Grade-I Ambassador, which is the highest in the Indian Foreign Service. In the year 1989, Singh became Foreign Secretary of India.
Shailendra Kumar Singh was also the President of the Group of 77. He also served as India`s Governor on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Singh was a member of 19 Indian delegations to the UN General Assembly and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights as well. Shailendra Kumar Singh used to teach History at Agra University. Moreover, he was also a Visiting Professor and Member of the Academic Council of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Singh had been in charge of the Commonwealth and the United Nations general elections in South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Lesotho, Malawi and Sierra Leone. He also monitored the presidential election in Sri Lanka.
Personal Life of Shailendra Kumar Singh
Shailendra Kumar Singh was married to Manju Singh and had to sons together. His elder son, Shashank Singh, is an MBA from Harvard University and Kanishka Singh, his younger son, provides political support to Rahul Gandhi. Singh died in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital at the age of 77, on 1st December 2009, due to illness. Shailendra Kumar Singh was also a well known commentator as well as a writer on vivid topics like international relations, geopolitics and current developments.
