Taranjit Singh Sandhu

Taranjit Singh Sandhu trained in history at St Stephen's College and international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University before joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1988. He worked in Moscow as the Soviet Union dissolved and helped establish India's embassy in Kyiv in 1992. Washington became a recurring assignment: he handled congressional liaison from 1997 to 2000 and served as deputy chief of mission from 2013 to 2017. ¹

Sandhu was high commissioner to Sri Lanka before returning to Washington as ambassador in February 2020. During India's severe COVID-19 wave in April 2021, he briefed American business leaders on urgent requirements for oxygen equipment, ventilators, and medicines. He also spoke with Pfizer's chief executive about vaccines and the Indian government's import and emergency authorization arrangements. ^{1, 2}

His earlier appointments included India's UN mission in New York and the consulate general in Frankfurt. After his diplomatic career, Sandhu entered public office in India. On 11 March 2026 he was sworn in as Delhi's twenty-third lieutenant governor. ^{1, 3}