US-educated Krishna is India’s foreign minister
US-educated S.M. Krishna becomes India’s external affairs minister when New Delhi is expected to play a larger global role economically and the country’s neighbourhood is seething with challenges.
NEW DELHI — A Fulbright scholar, the US-educated S.M. Krishna becomes India’s external affairs minister when New Delhi is expected to play a larger global role economically and the country’s neighbourhood is seething with challenges.
Krishna, who succeeds veteran Congress politician Pranab Mukherjee, promises to bring to his new job administrative skills and expertise he displayed as chief minister (1999-2004) to transform Karnataka into an economic powerhouse.
Under Krishna’s leadership, Bangalore began to be called India’s Silicon Valley and became a magnet for foreign investment and outsourcing destination mainly for IT companies.
The 77-year-old Congress leader, known for his fine sartorial tastes and a passion for tennis and yoga, is married to Prema and has two daughters.
Son of S.C. Mallaiah, he was born May 1, 1932 in Karnataka. He did his BA from Mysore and studied law at a government college in Bangalore.
Krishna went to the US for further studies, at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and George Washington University, where he was a Fulbright scholar.
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