Hardeep Singh Puri, Indian Politician

A politician and former diplomat, Hardeep Singh Puri is currently serving as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs in India. A 1974 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Puri served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013. Previously, he had been the chairman of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from August 2011 to November 2012, secretary-general of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism in New York, and vice-president of the International Peace Institute.