SHASHI THAROOR

SHASHI THAROOR

Shashi Tharoor (born 9 March 1956) is an Indian politician and a former diplomat who is currently serving as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala since 2009. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and All India Professionals Congress of the Indian National Congress.

He was previously Minister of State in the Government of India for External Affairs (2009–2010) and Human Resource Development (2012–2014). He is a member of the Indian National Congress and served as an official spokesperson for the party from January to October 2014. Until 2007, he was a career official at the United Nations, rising to the rank of Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information in 2001. He announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 selection for U.N. Secretary-General to Ban Ki-moon.

Shashi Tharoor is also an acclaimed writer, having authored 16 bestselling works of fiction and non-fiction since 1981, all of which are centred on India and its history, culture, film, politics, society, foreign policy, and more. He is also the author of hundreds of columns and articles in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, Newsweek, and The Times of India. He was a contributing editor for Newsweek International for two years. From 2010 to 2012, he wrote a column in The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle and, for most of 2012, until his appointment as Minister, a column in Mail Today; he also writes an internationally syndicated monthly column for Project Syndicate. He also wrote regular columns for The Indian Express (1991–93 and 1996–2001), The Hindu(2001–2008), and The Times of India (2007–2009).

NOTABLE WORKS:The Great Indian Novel
The Five Dollar Smile and Other Stories
Show Business
Riot

Honours, awards and international recognition

• 1976 – Rajika Kripalani Young Journalist Award for the Best Indian Journalist under 30.
• 1990 – Federation of Indian Publishers' Hindustan Times Literary Award for the Best Book of the Year for The Great Indian Novel.
• 1991 – Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the Best Book of the Year in the Eurasian Region, for The Great Indian Novel
• 1998 – Excelsior Award for excellence in literature, Association of Indians in America (AIA)and the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP).
• 2000 – Doctor of Letters in International Affairs by the University of Puget Sound
• 1998 – Global Leader of Tomorrow, World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
• 2004 – Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, India's highest honour for non-resident Indians (accepted 2007
• 2008 – Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Bucharest, Romania.
• 2009 – Zakir Hussain Memorial "Pride of India" Award.
• 2009 – Inspiration of the Year Award at GQ's Man of the Year Awards.
• 2009 – Hakim Khan Sur Award for National Integration, Maharana of Udaipur.
• 2010 – Sarva Deshiya Prathibha Award, Pazhassiraja Charitable Trust, Kozhikode.
• 2010 – "New Age Politician of the Year" Award, at NDTV's Indian of the Year awards.
• 2010 – Fifth IILM Distinguished Global Thinker Award, New Delhi.
• 2010 – Digital person of the year, Indian Digital Media Awards (IDMA), for popularising the digital medium in India.
• 2013 – First Sree Narayan Guru Global Secular and Peace Award at Thiruvananthapuram.
• 2013 – PETA's "Person of the Year".