Vice President of India

Father's Name: Mohammad Abdul Aziz Ansari

Mother's Name: Mrs. Aasiya Begum

Date of Birth: 1 April 1937

Place of Birth: Calcutta

Marital Status: Married

Spouse's Name: Mrs. Salma Ansari

Children: Two sons and one daughter

Educational Qualifications: BA (Hons); MA (Political Science)

Permanent Address: D-55, IFS Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I, Delhi - 110091

Present Address: Vice-President House, 6, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi - 110011 Tel. - 23016422, 23016344

E-mail: vpindia@sansad.nic.in

Positions Held:

• Joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1961 and served in Indian missions in Baghdad, Rabat, Jeddah and Brussels
• Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1976-1979)
• Chief of Protocol to Govt. of India (1980-1985)
• High Commissioner to Australia (1985-1989)
• Ambassador to Afghanistan (1989-1990)
• Ambassador to Iran (1990-1992)
• Permanent Representative to the UN, New York (1993-1995)
• Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1995-1999)
• Visiting Professor, Centre for West Asian and African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Dec 1999-May 2000)
• Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (2000-2002)
• Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi (2002-2006)
• Visiting Professor, Academy for Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (2003-2005)
• Co - Chairman, India-U.K. Round Table (2004-2006)
• Member, National Security Advisory Board (2004-2006)
• Chairman, Advisory Committee for Oil Diplomacy, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (2004-2005)
• Chairman,Working Group on 'Confidence building measures across segments ofsociety in the State', established by the second Round Table Conferenceof the Prime Minister on Jammu and Kashmir, held at Srinagar, 24-25May, 2006; the report of the Working Group was adopted by the 3rd RoundTable held at New Delhi, 24 April 2007
• Chairman, Fifth Statutory National Commission for Minorities (March 2006-July 2007)
• Vice President of India and ex officio Chairman, Rajya Sabha since 11th August 2007.

Books Published:Edited, Iran Today: Twenty Five Years After the Islamic Revolution, NewDelhi, 2005; has written several academic papers and newspaper articleson West Asian Politics.

Awards: Padma Shri (1984)

Sports: Golf and Cricket

Institutes/Clubs:India International Centre, Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis(IDSA), United Services Institution Delhi Golf Club, Delhi GymkhanaClub, Noida Golf Club

Countries Visited: Visited many countries during the diplomatic and academic career.