Syed Akbaruddin Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Syed Akbaruddin

• Syed Akbaruddin is one of the most celebrated diplomats in India.

• He was born into a highly educated family to Professor Syed Bashiruddin and Dr Zeba Bashiruddin in Hyderabad.

• His father, Professor Syed Bashiruddin was the Head of the Department of Journalism and Communication at Osmania University who also served as the Indian Ambassador to Qatar.

• His father had also served as the vice-chancellor of Dr B R Ambedkar Open University and director of the research wing of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.

• Akbaruddin’s mother, Dr Zeba Bashiruddin was a Professor in the English department at Sri Sathya Sai University.

• After his schooling from Hyderabad’s prestigious “Hyderabad Public School,” he got himself enrolled in Hyderbad’s Osmania University where he pursued his Master’s in Political Science and International Relations.

• Reportedly, he was active in student politics in the college and was very popular.

• His father being himself a diplomat, it was natural for Akbaruddin to get influenced with the diplomatic lifestyle.

• While pursuing his master’s, Akbaruddin started preparing for the UPSC Examination, and in 1985, he was inducted into the Indian Foreign Service.

• Since his induction into the Indian Foreign Service, he has served in the Ministry of External Affairs of India in various capacities.
  

  Syed Akbaruddin Working on His Desk

• While serving at the Indian Mission to the United Nations as First Secretary during 1995-98, he focused on UN Security Council Reform and Peace-Keeping. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative & Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) during 1997-98.

• In the world of diplomacy, he is considered an expert on the West Asia issues and has served at many important positions in that region including consul-general at Jeddah from 2000 to 2004.

• Being fluent in Arabic, he has served as Counsellor at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Besides, he has also served the Consul General of India, Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 200-04 and prior to that was First Secretary in Riyadh and Second Secretary/Third Secretary in Cairo, Egypt.

• During his stint as an international civil servant at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna between 2006 and 2011, he worked as Head of the External Relations and Policy Coordination Unit and also as the Special Assistant to the Director-General of the IAEA.

• While serving as the official Spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs between 2012 and 2015, he was a member of the Indian delegations to the UNGA and various other multilateral and bilateral meetings at the Summit and Ministerial level. He effectively used social media tools to considerably expand public diplomacy outreach.

• In April 2015, he was succeeded by Vikas Swarup as the official Spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
  

  Vikas Swaroop Replacing Syed Akbaruddin as the Spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry of India

• In November 2015, Syed Akbaruddin was appointed as India’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.

• During the stint of Sushma Swaraj as the External Affairs Minister of India, Mr. Akbaruddin, along with Miss Swaraj, played a crucial role in carrying out many significant policies, which benefitted India on many international platforms.
  

  Syed Akbaruddin With Sushma Swaraj at the United Nations

• Syed Akbaruddin played a pivotal role in the UN declaring Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar an international terrorist in May 2019. On the achievement, he said-
  

  This is a significant outcome, we have been at it for several years, today the goal stands achieved’. Grateful to many countries who supported us i.e. the USA, UK and France and also several others in the council & outside the council; Would like to thank the permanent representative of Indonesia.”

• On 16 August 2019, he won accolades from Twitteratti after he extended his ‘hand of friendship’ to Pakistani journalists and reportedly asserted at the U.N. Security Council’s closed consultation on Kashmir that Article 370 was an internal matter of the country.

#WATCH: Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Ambassador to UN says,"so, let me start by coming across to you and shaking hands. All three of you," to a Pakistani journalist when asked,"when will you begin a dialogue with Pakistan?" pic.twitter.com/0s06XAaasl

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2019

• He is a sports enthusiast and loves outdoor games. On World Cycling Day in 2019, he actively campaigned for the promotion of cycling.
  

  Syed Akbaruddin Cycling

• Mr Akbaruddin is also said to popularize Yoga at the international arena and make it an international event; after the United Nations declared June 21 as the ‘International Yoga Day’ in 2015. Since then, the event is celebrated every year.

• Those who have been acquainted with Mr. Akbaruddin describe him as ‘focussed,’ ‘articulate,’ ‘soft-spoken,’ and with ‘no enemies’.