Meet Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri Who Briefed Media After Operation Sindoor

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. (Photo Source: NDTV)

In the early hours of Wednesday, India launched a powerful 25-minute assault, firing 24 missiles, that obliterated nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The strikes, executed between 1:05 am and 1:30 am, killed 70 terrorists.

Codenamed ‘Operation Sindoor', the offensive was a tri-services mission jointly executed by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam which killed 26 people.

At a high-security press briefing in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, joined by Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, described the attack as a “measured and proportionate” counter to Pakistan-based terror groups.

Who Is Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri?

Vikram Misri was born on November 7, 1964, in Srinagar. He did his early schooling in Udhampur and later studied at The Scindia School in Gwalior. He completed his Bachelor's degree in History from Hindu College, University of Delhi. He earned an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur.
He is a fellow of the Aspen Institute USA's India Leadership Initiative, now known as the Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship.
Before joining the government, he worked for three years in the private sector, in advertising and ad film-making, with Lintas India (Mumbai) and Contract Advertising (Delhi).
Vikram Misri joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1989.
He served on the Pakistan desk in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. He worked with two foreign ministers – I K Gujral and Pranab Mukherjee.
He was Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office. He also served as private secretary to three Prime Ministers – I K Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.
His foreign postings include Brussels, Tunis, Islamabad and Washington DC.
He was Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and Consul General in Munich. He has served as India's Ambassador to Spain, Myanmar and China. He also served as Deputy National Security Adviser (Strategic Affairs) from 2022-2024.
On July 15, 2024, Vikram Misri took charge as Foreign Secretary of India. He is the third Kashmiri Pandit to hold this role. Before him, R K Nehru (1952–1955) and T N Kaul (1968–1972), both of Kashmiri descent, held the same post.
Vikram Misri is married to Dolly Misri, and the couple has two children.