Minister Of External Affairs (India)
The Minister of External Affairs (or simply, the Foreign Minister) is the head of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most offices in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Foreign Minister is to represent India and its government in the international community. He also plays an important role in determining Indian foreign policy. Occasionally, he is assisted by Minister of State of External Affairs and the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of External Affairs.
India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, also held the Foreign Minister post throughout his 17-year premiership of the country; he remains the country's longest-serving Foreign Minister. Several other Prime Ministers have also since held the additional charge of Foreign Minister, although never has any other cabinet minister held additional charge of the office. There have been a number of Foreign Ministers who went on to become Prime Minister.
The current Foreign Minister is Salman Khurshid of the Indian National Congress party, who took over from his predecessor S. M. Krishna in October 2012.
Read more about Minister Of External Affairs (India): List of Foreign Ministers
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