Former Minister of External Affairs of India
NAME: Salman Khurshid Alam Khan
PROFESSION: Politician, Senior Advocate, Author, Law Teacher
BORN: 1 January, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH: Aligarh (UP)
FATHER’S NAME: Khurshed Alam Khan ( Former Union Minister of External Affairs)
MOTHER’S NAME: Saeeda Khurshid
SPOUSE: Louise Khurshid
SIBLINGS: 3 sisters ( Rehana Misra, Nilofer Menon, Anjum Shirazi)
CHILDREN: 3 children (Zafar Khurshid, Samar Khurshid, Omar Khurshid)
EDUCATION: B.A. from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi,
M.A., Bachelor of Civil law at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University.
POLITICAL PARTY: Indian National Congress (INC)
BOOKS: Visible Muslim, Invisible Citizen: Understanding Islam in Indian Democracy (2019)
Triple Talaq: Examining Faith (2018)
Spectrum Politics: Unveiling the Defence (2018)
Justice at Heart: Life Journey of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer (2016)
The Other Side of the Mountain (2015)
At Home in India: The Muslim Saga (2014)
Sons of Babur: A Play in Search of India (2008)
Beyond Terrorism: New Hope for Kashmir (1994)
If Winter Comes (1991)
At Home in India: A Restatement of Indian Muslims (1986)
BACKGROUND: He was born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He is the son of Khurshed Alam Khan,who was also a politician. He has three sisters. Dr. Zakir Hussain, third President of India, was his maternal grandfather. He knotted the tie with Louise Khurshid in 1984.
UPBRINGING & EDUCATION: He completed his schooling from St. Xavier’s High School, Patna and Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. He received his degree in B.A.( English and Jurisprudence ) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. After that, he passed M.A., BCL at Edmund Hall, Oxford. He also taught law at Trinity College, Oxford.
POLITICAL CAREER: Salman started his political career as an officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s office. Then, he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Commerce in the government of India. Thereafter, he won the election from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha and became the Minister of External Affairs by Prime Minister in 1991.
In 2009, he won the general election from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha as a candidate of Indian National Congress. Afterwards, he was made the Union Minister of State of Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs.
Therewith, he became Cabinet Minister for Law and Justice and Minority Affairs. He was also the External Affairs Minister in the Congress government .He lost the Lok Sabha election respectively in 2014 and 2019.
POSITION HELD: 2012-2014 – Minister of External Affairs
2011-2012 – Minister of Law and Justice
2009-2012 – Minister of Minority Affairs
2009-2014 – Member of Parliament
CONTROVERSIES: A news channel alleged that Salman Khurshid and his wife embezzled state funds allotted to a trust they run to help disabled people and also involved in forged signatures of government officials, a fake court affidavit and non-existent camps to help the disabled.
However, Salman and his wife did not accept these allegations and said that he was open for any investigation by’any authority’.