# Navdeep Singh Suri

Navdeep Suri (born 1959) is a retired Indian diplomat completing 36 years in the Indian Foreign Service, having served in India's diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London and as India's Consul General in Johannesburg. He has also headed the West Africa and Public Diplomacy departments at the Ministry of External Affairs. He was India's High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
The President of UAE conferred on him the Order of Zayed II, the country's second-highest civilian award. His innovative use of social media in public diplomacy in 2010 also received extensive recognition and two prestigious awards. Suri has learnt Arabic and French, has a master's degree in Economics and has written on India's Africa policy, on Public Diplomacy and on the IT outsourcing industry. His English translations of his grandfather Nanak Singh's classic Punjabi novels have been published by Penguin as The Watchmaker and by HarperCollins as A Life Incomplete and Khooni Vaisakhi.

## Early life and background

Suri was born in Amritsar in the north Indian state of Punjab in 1959. He is the grandson of acclaimed Punjabi novelist and poet Nanak Singh. His father Kulwant Singh runs a reputed publishing house in Amritsar and his mother Attarjit has taught Punjabi language to college students. He did his schooling from St. Francis School. He then completed his master's degree in economics from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

## Career
### Early diplomatic career

Suri joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1983 and has served in India's diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington DC, Dar es Salaam and London and as India's Consul General in Johannesburg.

### Joint Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs

He has later headed the West Africa and Public Diplomacy divisions at the Ministry of External Affairs at New Delhi as a Joint Secretary. His tenure as Joint Secretary of Public Diplomacy divisions is particularly distinguished for his effort to create MEA's improved interaction with citizens through use of social media platforms and Internet.

### Ambassador to Egypt

Suri's stint as Indian Ambassador to Egypt started in June 2012. As the Ambassador to Egypt his major challenge was a successful March 2013 state Visit of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi to India. Morsi visited India from the 18 to 21 March 2013 as the head of a high-level delegation of Egyptian ministers and business leaders, at a time when trade between these two countries has witnessed a record 30 percent jump.

### High Commissioner to Australia

On 26 February 2015, Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced its decision to appoint Suri as India's next High Commissioner to Australia, through a press brief. In April 2015, Suri arrived in Canberra, Australia.

### Wage theft

In November 2023, the Federal Court of Australia ordered Suri to pay a former housekeeper in Canberra $136,276.62 plus interest. This was due to Suri breaching employment conditions under Australian law. In March 2024, the Court further ordered Suri pay the housekeeper a pecuniary penalty of $97,200, after finding the housekeeper had endured “slave-like conditions” which included that “her passport was taken from her, she worked seven days a week, was never permitted to take leave and was only allowed outside the house for brief periods a day when looking after Mr Suri’s dog”.

## Awards and decorations
### Foreign honours

* United Arab Emirates:
** First Class of the Order of Zayed II (12 September 2019)

## Personal life

Suri is married to Mani, who has a degree in Economics and is a graphic designer and potter. The couple have two daughters.

## Works

Suri has translated three of his grandfather Nanak Singh's classical Punjabi novels to English.
* Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). Saintly Sinner. A 'n' B Publishers, 2003. ISBN 81-7539-029-8
* Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). The Watchmaker. Penguin India, 2009. ISBN 0-14-306586-6
* Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). A Life Incomplete. HarperCollins India, 2012. ISBN 93-5029-513-X
* Singh, Nanak and Navdeep Suri (trans.). Khooni Vaisakhi: A Poem from the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919. Harper Perennial, 2019. ISBN 9-35-302938-4