US appoints first woman ambassador to India

Nancy J Powell, the new American ambassador to India, is not only the first woman to head the US mission in Delhi, but also the first career diplomat to take over the crucial post in nearly 15 years.

A South Asia expert, 64-year-old Powell had served as the US ambassador to Pakistan (2002 to 2004) and Nepal (2007 to 2009) and had also held key diplomatic positions including as political counselor in Delhi (1993-1995), consul-general in Kolkata (1992-93) and deputy chief of mission in Dhaka (1995-97).

Her stint as national intelligence officer for South Asia at the National Intelligence Council (2006-07) has also given her adequate insights about the region. Powell moves to Delhi from the department of state, where she worked as director-general, foreign service, and director of human resources.

The last US foreign service officer to be posted in Delhi was Frank Wisner, who served as ambassador for three years from 1994. His successors – including Richard Celeste, Robert Blackwill, David Campbell Mulford and Timothy Roemer – were political appointees.

Only seven of the 22 US ambassadors in India since Independence have been career officers of the foreign service, Powell being the eighth. The position has attracted the likes of Chester Bowles, a former adman-turned-politician (who was ambassador to Delhi twice, between 1951 and 1953 and 1963 and 1969), John Kenneth Galbraith, a renowned economist and author (1961 to 1963) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a veteran Democrat (1973 to 1975).

The low-key Powell was ambassador in Islamabad during the crucial years following Pakistan's misadventure in Kargil, when relations between the two South Asian neighbours had deteriorated. She had also warned the Pakistan government that extremist outfits with links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban had regrouped, leading to a crackdown on them.