New Delhi:
Former Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon has been appointed as India's next National Security Advisor (NSA), the order was passed by the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday evening.
The post of NSA will be of the rank equivalent to a Minister of State (MoS).
Mr Menon has emerged from scathing criticism from the BJP, which had held him responsible for the controversial India, Pakistan joint statement at Sharm al Sheikh last summer, seen as handing the Pakistanis an ill-deserved diplomatic victory.
Menon succeeds M K Narayanan who was appointed the Governor of West Bengal. Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran was also in the race.
As one of India's most distinguished diplomats Shiv Shankar Menon is no stranger to challenges, he has served as envoy in some of the toughest postings - High Commissioner to Pakistan and Sri Lanka and Ambassador to China.
So in 2006 when Menon superceded as many as 16 top bureaucrats to become Foreign Secretary nobody was really surprised.
He was instrumental in finalising the nuclear deal done with America and securing that very difficult waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group in Vienna.
Cookie Menon, as he is affectionately called by friends, always had a convergence of views with the Prime Minister on foreign policy especially on ties with Pakistan and China.
Many say therefore that Shankar Menon was always the frontrunner for the NSA's job. The buzz began as he came close to retirement last July.
But then Sharm el Shiekh happened. The fiasco over the Indo-Pak joint statement had the opposition calling for his resignation.
He should quit," senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had said on July 23, 2009.
The Prime Minister however stood firmly behind his foreign secretary and defended the statement and the reference to Balochistan in Parliament.
But the political storm ensured a controversial exit for the diplomat who spent the next few months lying very low.
With the Prime Minister taking such a personal interest in foreign policy, Menon will now be the key pointperson on diplomacy; the shadow of Sharm el Sheikh never dented the PM's confidence in him.