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{{Short description|Indian diplomat (born 1943)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Kanwal Sibal
| honorific-prefix = [[Padma Shri]] ([[Doctor (title)|Dr.]])
| honorific-suffix = [[Indian Foreign Service|IFS]] (Retd.)
| image = Kanwal Sibal.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1943|11|18}}
| birth_place =
| office = 24th [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]]
| term_end = 19 November 2003
| term_start = 29 June 2002
| primeminister = [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]
| predecessor = [[Chokila Iyer]]
| successor = [[Shashank (diplomat)|Shashank]]
| occupation = Diplomat
| office2 = [[Chancellor]] of the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]]
| termstart2 = 26 September 2023 |predecessor2 = V. K. Saraswat
| successor2 = | termend2 =
}}
'''Kanwal Sibal''' (born 18 November 1943) is a retired diplomat who served as [[Foreign Secretary of India]] from 2002 to 2003. The Government of India awarded him the [[Padma Shri]] award for his distinguished services in the field of Public Affairs in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Padma Awards 2017 announced |url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=157675 |website=pib.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=List of Padma awardees 2017 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/List-of-Padma-awardees-2017/article17092476.ece |website=The Hindu |language=en-IN |date=25 January 2017}}</ref> Post-retirement, he has been appointed as the Chancellor of [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] since 2023 by the [[President of India]].

==Early life and education==
He was born on 18 November 1943 to noted Lawyer [[Hira Lall Sibal]], Padma Bhushan awardee.

He graduated with an MA in English from [[Panjab University]]. Dr. Kanwal Sibal later graduated from the World Information Distributed University with the scientific degree of International Doctor of Philosophy and the scientific degree of Grand Doctor of Philosophy, in June 2006. Dr. Kanwal Sibal is the First Grand Doctor of Philosophy in India. He received the title of Full Professor from the European Academy of Informatization and the World Information Distributed University-WIDU.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastwest.ngo/profile/amb-kanwal-sibal|title=Amb. Kanwal Sibal | EastWest Institute|website=www.eastwest.ngo}}</ref>

==Diplomatic career==
He was appointed to the [[Indian Foreign Service]] in July 1966.

He served in Paris (August 1968 to July 1973), Dar es Salaam (August 1976 to October 1979), Lisbon (February 1980 to July 1982), and Kathmandu (July 1982 to September 1985). Dr. Sibal also served as Joint Secretary (Administration/West Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India from January 1986 to April 1989, the Ambassador of India to Turkey (April 1989 to July 1992), the Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Washington (August 1992 to September 1995), the Ambassador of India to Egypt (September 1995 to March 1998), the Ambassador of India to France (March 1998 to June 2002) and Ambassador to Russia (2004 to 2007).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thinkworks.in/speakers/kanwal-sibal/|title = Kanwal Sibal}}</ref>

===Oraon abuse case===
During Sibal's tenure as Ambassador of India to France in 1999, a diplomat at the embassy, [[Amrit Lugun]], was accused by his family's live-in servant, Lalita Oraon, of sexual abuse after she had escaped from Lugun's household.<ref name="abuse">{{cite news |last1=Henley |first1=Jon |title=Indian diplomat accused of torturing servant |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/sep/17/jonhenley1 |work=The Guardian |date=16 September 1999}}</ref> The French media and public was horrified to learn that Oraon had suffered "knife wounds, three to 6cm deep, all around the vagina" and the injuries were "consistent with an act of torture or deliberate mutilation" according to the description of an examining doctor to French media.<ref name="abuse"/><ref name="frenchmedia">{{cite news |title=Case of domestic violence involving Indian diplomat in Paris takes on political tones |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/diplomacy/story/19991004-case-of-domestic-violence-involving-indian-diplomat-in-paris-takes-on-political-tones-824865-1999-10-04 |work=India Today |date=October 4, 1999}}</ref> In the face of pressure on bilateral ties, Sibal continued to support Lugun and refused to remove him pending any probe.<ref name="abuse"/><ref name="enquiry">{{cite news |title=Case of domestic violence involving Indian diplomat in Paris takes on political tones |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/diplomacy/story/19991004-case-of-domestic-violence-involving-indian-diplomat-in-paris-takes-on-political-tones-824865-1999-10-04 |work=India Today |date=4 October 1999 | first=Shiraz | last=Sidhva | accessdate=27 August 2020 }}</ref> When the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] attempted to send an [[Indian Foreign Service#Career and rank structure|Additional Secretary]] level official for further enquiry, an "enraged" Sibal complained to the [[Prime Minister's Office (India)|Prime Minister's Office]] and had the investigation cancelled. ''[[India Today]]'' noted there was a "political colour" to Sibal's actions as his brother Kapil was a "high-profile [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] spokesman and Lugun's mother-in-law Sushila Kerketta a Congress [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]]."<ref name="frenchmedia"/>

==Other posts held==
He was a member of India's National Security Advisory Board from November 2008 to November 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gatewayhouse.in/author/kanwal-sibal/|title = Kanwal Sibal, Author at Gateway House}}</ref>

In 2023, he became the chancellor of [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ex-foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal appointed new chancellor of JNU |url=https://www.educationtimes.com/article/campus-beat-college-life/99733731/ex-foreign-secretary-kanwal-sibal-appointed-new-chancellor-of-jnu |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Education Times |language=en}}</ref>

==Family==
Kanwal Sibal's father was H.L. Sibal, a renowned advocate who was rendered homeless along with his entire family during partition. In 1994, H.L. Sibal was named a "Living Legend of the Law" by the International Bar Association and in 2006.

[[Indian National Congress]] politician and former Cabinet Minister [[Kapil Sibal]] is Kanwal's younger brother. Virender Sibal, Jitendar Sibal (both retired IAS officers) and Ms. Asha Nanda are his other siblings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/kapil-sibals-father-hira-lall-sibal-dead/785228|title=Kapil Sibal's Father Hira Lall Sibal Dead}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Navtej Sarna]]
*[[Taranjit Singh Sandhu]]
*[[Harsh Vardhan Shringla]]
*[[Indian Foreign Service]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=Ranjit Sethi}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ambassador of India to France]]|years=1998 - 2002}}
{{s-aft|after=Savitri Kunadi}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Chokila Iyer]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]]|years=2002 - 2003}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Shashank (diplomat)|Shashank]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[K. Raghunath]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ambassador of India to Russia]]|years=2004 - 2007}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Prabhat Prakash Shukla]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Civil Service}}
{{Indian civil servants}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibal, Kanwal}}
[[Category:Foreign secretaries of India]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Turkey]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to France]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Egypt]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in civil service]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Russia]]
[[Category:People from Jalandhar]]

Kanwal Sibal - Revision history

Developer.mubin at 21:36, 11 February 2026