Syed Akbaruddin is the founding Dean of the Kautilya School of Public Policy. He has a distinguished diplomatic career spanning more than three decades. Entering the Indian Foreign Service in 1985, he retired in April 2020, upon completion of his tenure as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. He was the Official Spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs from 2012 to 2015. He is among the few Indian diplomats who have the distinction of also serving as an international civil servant in a United Nations entity.