- K. P. S. Menon
Kumara Padma Sivasankara Menon (aka K. P. S. Menon) (1898 – 1982) was a pioneering career diplomat in the
Indian Civil Service , (later Indian Foreign/Administrative Service).Early life
He was born in
Kottayam ,India in 1898. His father was alawyer fromOttapalam .He did his schooling at Kottayam and attended CMS School, Kottayam. Menon pursued his higher education from the prestigious
Madras Christian College andOxford University where he was president of the Oxford Majlis.Civil Service
He secured the first rank in the Civil Services examination. He served as District Magistrate in
Trichy , Foreign officer inNWFP andSri Lanka , Ambassador to the USSR (in 1952-61) andChina and as independent India's first Foreign Secretary.He married Anujee, the daughter of Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair. His son KPS Menon Junior served as Foreign Secretary and grandson Shivsankar Menon is presently Foreign Secretary of India, representing the third generation of Indian Foreign secretaries from the same family.
He was awarded the
Lenin Peace Prize (for 1977-78).Books
Sri KPS Menon has authored a number of books as well, namely the autobiographical "Many Worlds", its update, "Many Worlds Revisited" and the travelogue "Delhi - Chungking". His style of writing is marked by its simplicity and honesty, and abounds in humour. 'Many Worlds' provides a remarkable insight into his early childhood and what it was like to be growing up in a typical Nair household ("tharavaad") in those days.
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