Vijay Rangarajan

BREXIT was a challenging time for the UK’s diplomats to convince foreign countries about Britain’s future outside the European Union.

But Vijay Rangarajan and other senior officials did it for the UK, paving the way for several trade deals.

Rangarajan is currently the director general for America, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, and Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

It has been a long and successful journey for the man born in Delhi in 1969.

Rangarajan studied Mathematics for a Master’s degree and then obtained his PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Cambridge in 1995.

His ascent began immediately after his education as he assumed various roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for about eight years. This was followed by his stints as the deputy ambassador at the British embassy in Mexico from 2003 to 2006 and as the UK’s representative in Brussels between 2006 and 2009.

His area of operation included trade policy and political affairs. He led the Justice and Home Affairs section, covering immigration, asylum, data-sharing, counter-terrorism, and civil and criminal law.

Rangarajan then contributed to the domestic front. He worked in the Ministry of Justice and Cabinet Office on Britain’s political and constitutional reform – running elections, parliament and the development of devolution in the UK. This involved establishing the all-important Supreme Court and Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, and the reform of electoral registration.

Later he set up the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Multilateral Policy Directorate, responsible for the UN, Council of Europe, and Commonwealth and work on international human rights and conflict issues. He negotiated major changes to the European Convention on Human Rights.

In 2017, Rangarajan was posted to Brazil as the British ambassador and worked there for nearly three and half years before becoming a board member of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in 2020.

The Indian-origin diplomat was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 2015 Birthday Honours.