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Romesh Bhandari
13th Foreign Secretary of India
In office 1 February 1985 – 31 March 1986
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Minister	Rajiv Gandhi Bali Ram Bhagat
Preceded by	M. K. Rasgotra
Succeeded by	A. P. Venkateswaran
Eleventh Lieutenant Governor of Delhi
In office 4 August 1988 – December 1989
Preceded by	Harkishan Lal Kapoor
Succeeded by	Arjan Singh
Third Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
In office December 1989 – 24 February 1990
Preceded by	Tirath Singh Oberoi
Succeeded by	Ranjit Singh Dayal
Seventh Governor of Tripura
In office 15 August 1993 – 15 June 1995
Preceded by	K. V. Raghunatha Reddy
Succeeded by	Prof. Siddheswar Prasad
Sixth Governor of Goa
In office 16 June 1995 – 18 July 1996
Preceded by	Gopala Ramanujam
Succeeded by	P.C. Alexander
Sixth Governor of Uttar Pradesh
In office 19 July 1996 – 17 March 1998
Preceded by	Mohammad Shafi Qureshi
Succeeded by	Mohammad Shafi Qureshi
Personal details
Born	(1928-03-29)29 March 1928 Lahore, Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	7 September 2013(2013-09-07) (aged 85) New Delhi, India
Spouse	Kumudesh Bhandari
Children	2
Parent(s)	Amar Nath Bhandari (father) Padma Bhandari (mother)
Profession	Diplomat Administrator

Romesh Bhandari (29 March 1928 – 7 September 2013) was an Indian diplomat and administrator. Bhandari, during his career, served in various positions, including as the Indian Foreign Secretary, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Governor of Tripura, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.

Early life

Romesh Bhandari was born in Lahore, Punjab Province, British India (present day Pakistan) on 29 March 1928. He was the son of Amar Nath Bhandari, a Punjab High Court Judge who was part of the bench which decided the Mahatma Gandhi Assassination case. His mother was Padma Bhandari, and he had two siblings.

Career

He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1950 as the Vice-Consul at the consulate in New York. He was minister in the Indian Embassy at Moscow from 1970 to 1971. He was the Indian ambassador to Thailand, Permanent Representative to UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East from 1971 to 1974 and the Indian ambassador to Iraq from 1974 to 1976. He then returned to the Ministry of External Affairs as Additional Secretary from February 1977 to July 1979. He was promoted as Secretary on 1 August 1979 and was appointed Foreign Secretary on 1 February 1985. He retired from service on 31 March 1986. In 1984, Bhandari brought back to India the extradited hijackers of the Indian Airlines Flight 421 from Dubai in 1984.

He was the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi from 4 August 1988 to December 1989 and of the Andaman and Nicobar islands from December 1989 to 24 February 1990. He was the Governor of Tripura from 15 August 1993 to 15 June 1995, Governor of Goa from 16 June 1995 to 18 July 1996 and Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 19 July 1996 to 17 March 1998. During his tenure as Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Bhandari's recommendation to dismiss the Kalyan Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state in 1997 led to a significant crisis for the central government, which ultimately had to reinstate the BJP's state government.

Personal life

Bhandari was married to Kumudesh Bhandari, daughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and a member of the Phulkian dynasty. He and Kumudesh had two children, one son and one daughter. Through his wife, Bhandari's brother-in-law was the businessman Vipin Khanna. Bhandari died on the night of 7 September 2013 after a prolonged illness.

References

1. ^ "Shri Romesh Bhandari". Raj Bhavan, Uttar Pradesh. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
2. Mahapatra, Dhananjay (20 May 2019). "How to exorcise the ghost of Nathuram Godse, which pops up every now and then?". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
3. "Romesh Bhandari's mother passes away". Oneindia. 17 April 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
4. PTI (8 September 2013). "Former UP governor Romesh Bhandari dies". Mint. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
5. ^ HT Correspondent (9 September 2013). "Former UP guv Romesh Bhandari dead". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
6. Magan, Srishti (18 September 2021). "Everything To Know About The Real-Life Hijacking That Inspired Akshay Kumar's 'Bell Bottom'". ScoopWhoop. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
7. ^ "Indian states since 1947". worldstatesmen.org. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
8. "Governors of Goa since Liberation". rajbhavangoa.org. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
9. "Tripura - Governors". tripura.nic.in. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
10. "Governors of Uttar Pradesh". upgov.nic.in. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
11. "The Illustrated Weekly Of India Vol.108, No.26-49(july-dec)1987". Internet Archive. 1987. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
12. PTI (29 March 1928). "Former UP governor Romesh Bhandari passes away". Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2013.

• Indian Foreign Secretaries
• People from Lahore
• 1928 births
• 2013 deaths
• Governors of Tripura
• Governors of Goa
• Governors of Uttar Pradesh
• Lieutenant governors of Delhi
• Lieutenant governors of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Ambassadors of India to Iraq
• Ambassadors of India to Thailand
• Indian Foreign Service officers