Politics & National Service – Page 6

Puneet Talwar

Puneet Talwar is an American diplomat and foreign policy expert. A longtime adviser on South Asia, the Middle East, and national security, he served on the National Security Council and in senior positions at the U.S. Department of State. In 2022, he became U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, representing the United States in one of its […]

Rachna Korhonen

Rachna Korhonen is an American career diplomat who became U.S. Ambassador to Mali in 2023. Over a Foreign Service career spanning multiple continents, she has held senior diplomatic assignments across Africa, Europe, and Asia. As ambassador, she represented American interests during a period of significant political and security challenges in the Sahel. Her appointment reflected […]

Vinai Thummalapally

Vinai Thummalapally is an American diplomat and business leader. In 2009, he became the first person of Indian origin to serve as a U.S. ambassador when President Barack Obama appointed him Ambassador to Belize. A longtime entrepreneur and civic leader before entering government, he later served as Executive Director of SelectUSA, promoting foreign investment in […]

Bobby Jindal

Bobby Jindal is an American politician who became the first Indian American elected governor of a U.S. state when he won Louisiana’s governorship in 2007. Before serving two terms as governor, he represented Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives, ending a more than forty-year absence of Indian Americans in Congress since Dalip Singh Saund. […]

Kumar Barve

Kumar Barve is a Maryland legislator who became the first Indian American elected to a state legislature in the United States. Elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1990, he later served as Majority Leader, becoming one of the state’s most influential lawmakers. Over a legislative career spanning more than three decades, Barve championed […]

Mervyn M. Dymally

Mervyn M. Dymally was an American politician of Indian and African descent who spent more than four decades in public office. In 1974, he became California’s Lieutenant Governor, one of the highest-ranking elected officials of color in the United States at the time. He later represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he […]

Conjee Rustomjee Couhujee Bey (Antonio Gomez)

Conjee Rustomjee Couhujee Bey was among the earliest documented people of Indian origin to serve in the United States military. Enlisting in the U.S. Navy under the name Antonio Gomez, he served for two years during the American Civil War. His service established an early record of Indian participation in the nation’s armed forces during […]

Rajiv Shah

Dr. Rajiv Shah is an American physician and global development leader who served as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2010 to 2015. At the time of his appointment, he became the highest-ranking Indian American in the federal government. He directed American humanitarian and development programs across the world, leading responses […]