Bhaswati Mukherjee

Bhaswati Mukherjee is a retired Indian diplomat and a regular commentator on international affairs. She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976 and went on to hold several senior assignments across Europe and multilateral institutions. Between 1998 and 2004, she led the Ministry of External Affairs division dealing with the European Union, where she played a key role in shaping institutional mechanisms, including the launch of annual India–EU summits. Her long engagement with Europe culminated in her 2018 book India and EU: An Insider’s View. Mukherjee served as India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2010 to 2013 and earlier as Permanent Delegate to UNESCO from 2004 to 2010. She has also worked at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations from 1986 to 1989, and later spent six years as Chief of Staff to the UN Human Rights Commissioner between 1991 and 1997. Since retiring from diplomatic service, she has continued to write and speak on the European Union, cultural heritage, and education, drawing on decades of experience in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.