Biography

Name: M. Hamid Ansari

Father’s Name: Shri Mohammad Abdul Aziz Ansari

Mother’s Name: Smt. Aasiya Begum

Date of Birth: 1 April 1937

Place of Birth: Calcutta

Marital Status: Married

Spouse’s Name: Smt. Salma Ansari

Children: Two sons and one daughter

Educational Qualifications: BA (Hons); MA (Political Science)

Permanent Address: 31, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road, New Delhi Telephone – 011-21410577

Positions held:

  • Joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1961 and served in Indian missions in Baghdad, Rabat, Jeddah and Brussels;
  • Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1976-1979);
  • Chief of Protocol to Govt. of India (1980-1985);
  • High Commissioner to Australia (1985-1989);
  • Ambassador to Afghanistan (1989-1990);
  • Ambassador to Iran (1990-1992);
  • Permanent Representative to the UN, New York (1993-1995);
  • Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1995-1999);
  • Visiting Professor, Centre for West Asian and African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Dec 1999-May 2000);
  • Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (2000-2002);
  • Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi (2002-2006);
  • Visiting Professor, Academy for Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (2003-2005);
  • Co – Chairman, India-U.K. Round Table (2004-2006);
  • Member, National Security Advisory Board (2004-2006);
  • Chairman, Advisory Committee for Oil Diplomacy, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (2004-2005);
  • Chairman, Working Group on ‘Confidence building measures across segments of society in the State’, established by the second Round Table Conference of the Prime Minister on Jammu and Kashmir, held at Srinagar, 24-25 May, 2006; the report of the Working Group was adopted by the 3rd Round Table held at New Delhi, 24 April 2007;
  • Chairman, Fifth Statutory National Commission for Minorities (March 2006-July 2007);
  • Thirteenth Vice President of India and ex officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha from 11th August 2007 to 10th August, 2012.
  • Re-elected as Fourteenth Vice President of India and ex officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 11th August, 2012.
  • Fourteenth Vice President of India and ex officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha from 11th August 2012 to 10th August, 2017.
  • Member :- Global Leadership Forum since May 2020

Books published:

  • Challenges to a Liberal Polity.
  • Dare I question.
  • Iran Today: Twenty Five Years After the Islamic Revolution, (ED) (New Delhi, 2005).
  • Traveling Through Conflict: Essays on the Politics of West Asia, (New Delhi, 2008).
  • Teasing Questions: Exploring Disconnects in Contemporary India, (New Delhi 2013).
  • Citizen and Society: Selected Writings (New Delhi 2016).
  • Academic papers and newspaper articles on West Asian Politics, in 2000-2006 period.
  • By Many a Happy Accident : Recollections of a Life

Awards

  • Padma Shri (1984).
  • Honorary Doctorate for International Relations, Mevlana University Konya, Turkey, on October 12, 2011.
  • Honorary Doctorate, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco, June 1, 2016.
  • Honorary Doctorate, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia on April 26, 2017.

Sports

  • Golf and Cricket

Institutes/Clubs:

  • India International Centre
  • Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA)
  • United Services Institution
  • Delhi Golf Club
  • Delhi Gymkhana Club
  • Noida Golf Club