Shilendra Kumar Singh, former diplomat and governor of Arunachal Pradesh, was sworn in as the new governor of Rajasthan at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here on Thursday.

Chief Secretary D C Samant read out the presidential warrant at 11.30 am. Immediately after this,  the Acting Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Justice J M Panchal, administered the oath of office to him. He took the oath in English. 

A large number of dignitaries including Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Opposition Leader Ram Narain Choudhury, Director General of Police A S Gill, judges and members of the cabinet were present at the ceremony. The new governor’s family and friends also attended the ceremony.

Born on January 24, 1932, Mr Shilendra Singh was selected for the Indian Foreign Service in 1954. He remained Third Secretary in Tehran from 1956 to 1959 and later worked in the external affairs ministry in New Delhi for three years. He was also a member of the Permanent Mission of India in the UN.

Singh, who was appointed foreign secretary in 1989, holds the distinction of being an A-grade diplomat. He has also held many other important portfolios including  assignments as ambassador to Austria, Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus.  His longest tenure as ambassador was  in Pakistan. 

Apart from a long experience in the external affairs ministry, Singh is well versed in Urdu, Persian, Sanskrit and Hindi.

He has been a visiting faculty at the Agra and Jawaharlal Nehru Universities. He has also penned many scholarly  articles for newspapers and magazines. 

The post of Rajasthan Governor had fallen vacant after Mrs Pratibha Patil resigned after being nominated as UPA’s presidential candidate in June this year. Haryana Governor A R Kidwai was holding additional charge of Rajasthan before Singh was appointed to the post.