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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lakshmi Puri
| image = Lakshmi Puri.jpg
| caption = Lakshmi Puri in 2014.
| birth_date = 1952
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| education = [[B.A.]] (in History) - [[University of Delhi]];<br />[[M.A.]]
- [[Panjab University]] at [[Chandigarh]]
| occupation = Former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women;

Former Ambassador of India
| years_active = 1974 - Present
| spouse = [[Hardeep Singh Puri]]
}}
'''Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri'''<ref name="ohrlls"/> (born 1952) is a former [[Assistant Secretary-General|assistant secretary-general]] at the [[United Nations]] and the former deputy [[Director general|executive director]] of [[UN Women]].<ref name="UN-SG UN Women">{{cite web|last1=UN Department of Public Information - News and Media Division, New York|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/sga1283.doc.htm|access-date=2020-06-23|title=Secretary-General Appoints Lakshmi Puri of India Assistant Secretary-General for Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships, UN Women |date=11 March 2011|archive-date=8 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308194014/https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sga1283.doc.htm |publisher=[[United Nations]] |id=Secretary-General Press Press Doc ID: SG/A/1283 BIO/4274 WOM/1857 - Meetings Coverage and Press Releases}}</ref> Prior to her 15-year stint at the United Nations, she served as an Indian diplomat for 28 years. From 1999 until 2002, she was India's Ambassador to [[Hungary]], while also concurrently accredited to [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].

==Education and personal life==
Puri studied for her [[Bachelor of Arts]] (Hons) degree in [[history]] at the [[University of Delhi]], and her [[Master of Arts|Master]]'s degree at [[Panjab University]].<ref name="UN-SG UN Women"/><ref name="equal">{{cite web |last1=Heroica Foundation |title=Lakshmi Puri: Equal Means Equal |url=https://equalmeansequal.com/lakshmi-puri/ |website=EqualMeansEqual.com |access-date=18 August 2021 |date=7 February 2016}}</ref> She also holds professional diplomas in history, public policy and administration, international relations and law, and economic development.<ref name="equal"/>

She is married to [[Hardeep Singh Puri]], who is an Indian politician and former diplomat. He {{As of|alt=currently|2021|09}} serves as a [[Union Council of Ministers|cabinet minister]] in the [[Government of India]].{{Update after|2022|09|reason=Still serving as minster?}} His appointment as [[Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas]] began in July 2021, and as [[Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs]] in September 2017. They have two daughters.

==Career==
=== Civil Service ===
[[Ambassador]] Puri joined the [[Indian Foreign Service]] in 1974 and served in [[Japan]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Switzerland]] (in [[Geneva]]). She was appointed ambassador to Hungary in March 1999 and served there until July 2002, while also accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina. During her term there, she worked closely with the [[United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina|UN peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (UNPROFOR).<ref name="ohrlls"/><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Indian Embassy, Hungary [on Instagram] |title="Ms. Lakshmi Puri, presently Assistant Secretary-General of UN Women was India's Ambassador to Hungary from March 1999 to July 2002 ... |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BgD4hjzFsyh/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BgD4hjzFsyh |archive-date=26 December 2021 |url-access=registration|access-date=2020-06-23|website=Instagram|language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> At the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] headquarters in [[Delhi]], she served as the [[undersecretary]] on the Japan and Korea desk and later as undersecretary on the [[Pakistan]] desk. She also served as the [[Joint secretary to the Government of India|Joint-Secretary]] Economic Division and Multilateral Economic Relations (ED & MER) for six years. She was active in negotiating India's many bilateral, [[Plurilateral agreement|plurilateral]] and [[multilateralism|multilateral]] economic diplomacy initiatives such as the [[Look East policy (India)|Look East policy]], Indo-[[ASEAN]] Dialogue Partnership, [[Indian-Ocean Rim Association]], [[Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation]] as well as for the [[Group of 15]] forum.

=== United Nations ===
==== UNCTAD ====
Puri continued with her trade and economic policy work when she joined the [[United Nations]] in 2002 as the director of [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]]’s ([[UNCTAD]]) flagship Division on Trade in goods, services and commodities.<ref name="ohrlls">{{Cite web|title=Ms Lakshmi Puri appointed UN-OHRLLS director|url=http://unohrlls.org/news/ms-lakshmi-puri-appointed-un-ohrlls-director/|access-date=2020-06-23|website=UN-OHRLLS|language=en}}</ref> She became Acting [[United Nations Deputy Secretary-General|Deputy Secretary-General]] of [[UNCTAD]] (2007 to 2009).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Petko Draganov of Bulgaria appointed as UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General|url=https://unctad.org/en/pages/PressReleaseArchive.aspx?ReferenceDocId=11103|access-date=2020-06-23|website=unctad.org}}</ref> From 2009 to 2011, she was director of the [[United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States]] (UN-ORLLS) in New York.

==== UN Women ====
Puri was appointed [[Assistant Secretary General|assistant secretary-general]] of the [[United Nations]] and deputy executive director of the pioneering global entity for promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women - [[UN Women]] in 2011.<ref name="UN-SG UN Women"/>

== Recognition and awards ==
Puri was the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights in 2016,<ref>{{Cite web|title=UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri receives the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/10/speech-by-deputy-executive-director-lakshmi-puri-receiving-eleanor-roosevelt-award|access-date=2020-06-23|website=UN Women|language=en}}</ref> the Novus Award for Championing the [[Sustainable Development Goals]] ([[Novus Summit]]), and the Millennium Campus Award 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lakshmi Puri Global Generation Award speech|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2015/8/lakshmi-puri-global-generation-award-speech|access-date=2020-06-23|website=UN Women|language=en}}</ref> In 2017, for her role in ensuring that a specific gender equality and women’s empowerment goal was adopted as part of the [[Sustainable Development Goals]], Puri was recognized for her advocacy and leadership with the inaugural Diwali ''Power of One'' award from the Diwali Foundation USA, (in partnership with the [[Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations|Permanent Missions of India]], [[Belarus]], and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] to the United Nations).<ref name="unw">{{cite news |title=UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri among top diplomats to receive the Power of One award |url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/12/announcement-ded-puri-receives-power-of-one-award |access-date=17 August 2021 |work=UN Women |date=12 December 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==
Puri is a published author of several reports and research papers:

* Driving the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN Women, May 2016. [https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/8/driving-the-gender-responsive-implementation-of-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development]
* [[Aid for Trade]]: Global and Regional perspectives. UNU-CRIS (editor and author), April 2009. [https://unctad.org/en/Docs/ditc20082_en.pdf]
* Addressing the Global Energy Crisis. UNCTAD publication (editor), December 2008.
* Interface between Trade & Climate Change. UNCTAD publication (editor), November 2007.
* Multilateralism and South-South Cooperation. UNCTAD publication (co-author), September 2004. [https://unctad.org/en/docs/ditctncd20047ch1_en.pdf]
* Trade and Development Review 2003. UNCTAD publication (author introduction), April 2004. [https://unctad.org/en/Docs/tdr2003_en.pdf]

== See also ==
[[Civil Services of India]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puri, Lakshmi}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:University of Delhi alumni]]
[[Category:Panjab University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian officials of the United Nations]]
[[Category:Indian women ambassadors]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Hungary]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Bosnia and Herzegovina]]

{{India-diplomat-stub}}

Lakshmi Puri - Revision history

->Rlink2 at 18:14, 26 December 2021