Raveesh Kumar ( born 26 January 1961) is an Indian diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service of 1995 batch. Currently, he is an Indian ambassador to the Czech Republic. Previously, he served as Indian ambassador to Finland also accredited to Estonia, residing in Helsinki.[5] He was the former official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the Government of India. He was the youngest ever official spokesperson. He was the Consul General of India in Frankfurt, Germany before being appointed as the spokesperson of the MEA.

Raveesh Kumar
Ambassador of India in Czech Republic
Assumed office
27 June 2024[1]
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byHemant H. Kotalwar
Ambassador of India in Finland and Estonia
In office
17 July 2020[2] – 26 June 2024
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byVani Rao
Succeeded byHemant H. Kotalwar
Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs
In office
21 July 2017[3] – 6 April 2020[4]
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byGopal Bagalay
Succeeded byAnurag Srivastava
Personal details
Born (1971-01-26) 26 January 1971 (age 53)
Bhagalpur, Bihar, India
NationalityIndia
SpouseRanjana Raveesh
Children2
Alma materMount Assisi School
Delhi Public School, Mathura Road
Hansraj College
OccupationIFS
ProfessionDiplomat

Early life and education

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Raveesh Kumar was born in Nathnagar, Bhagalpur district of Bihar. He attended Mount Assisi School, Bhagalpur till class 10 after which he attended Delhi Public School, Mathura Road till class 12. He holds a bachelor's degree with Honours in History from Hansraj College, Delhi University.[6]

Diplomatic career

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Kumar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1995, through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducted Civil Service Examination. He started his diplomatic career at the Indian Mission in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1997. This was followed by posting in Thimpu, Bhutan as Second Secretary/First Secretary, where he looked after development assistance projects. During his stint in New Delhi from 2004-2007, he was the Desk Officer at the East Asia desk, covering Japan and Republic of Korea. He was then posted to London, United Kingdom as Political Counsellor responsible for bilateral political relationships and engagements with the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Subsequently, he moved as Deputy Chief of Mission to Jakarta from September 2010 to August 2013, followed by his posting as Consul General of India in Frankfurt, Germany from August 2013 to July 2017. Kumar was the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs and Joint Secretary (External Publicity) from July 2017 till April 2020.[7]

On the 11th of January, 2024, Kumar was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Czech Republic.[8] On, 27 June 2024 he took charge as Indian ambassador to the Czech Republic.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Embassy of India, Prague, Czech Republic : Ambassador Profile".
  2. ^ "Shri Raveesh Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Finland".
  3. ^ "Raveesh Kumar to Replace Gopal Baglay as MEA Spokesperson". 21 July 2017.
  4. ^ @raveesh_kumar (6 April 2020). "Time to pass the baton. After 33 months of an incredible opportunity to serve the nation, my best wishes to Anurag…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Shri Raveesh Kumar appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Finland". www.mea.gov.in. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Consul General, Frankfurt Germany". Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Ambassador, Helsinki Finland".
  8. ^ "Appointment to Prague".