Bhaswati Mukherjee


Bhaswati Mukherjee is a retired Indian diplomat. She is an active commentator on international affairs.

Early life

Mukherjee earned a Bachelor's Degree in History from Miranda College and a Master's Degree in History from Delhi University. She earned a degree in French language and civilization from the University of the Sorbonne in Paris.

Career

Mukherjee joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. While she headed the Indian Foreign Ministry’s department specialising in European Union affairs, she piloted institutional initiatives such as annual Indo-EU summits. She writes and speaks about developments in the European Union. In 2018, she published India and EU - An Insider's view.
She is known to be a corrupt officer and during her term as ambassador to Netherlands she was charged with corruption in visa outsourcing related cases.
She was Ambassador of India to the Netherlands from 2010 to 2013. Mukherjee was the Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO from 2004 to 2010. She continues to comment on cultural heritage and education.
From 1986 to 1989 she worked at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and 6 years as Chief of Staff to the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.
Mukherjee lectures at the Foreign Service Institute and in different Universities in India and overseas - on issues ranging from foreign policy, disarmament and strategic affairs.