Early Life and Career
Ansari was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India on 1 April 1937 though his family belongs to Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. He is the grand nephew of former Congress President Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, a leader of the Indian independence movement. Ansari studied at Shimla's St. Edwards High School, the St. Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta and pursued M.A. Political Science at the Aligarh Muslim University. He started his career as a civil servant in the Indian Foreign Service in 1961. He was Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1984. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from May 2000 to March 2002. He is known for his role in ensuring compensation to the victims of the Gujarat riots and pushing for a complete re-look into the relief and rehabilitation for riot victims since 1984.
Read more about this topic: Mohammad Hamid Ansari
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