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Former Deputy NSA Latha Reddy dies at 75
Veteran diplomat served as deputy national security adviser and India's ambassador to Portugal and Thailand.
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Ankita Baidya - Mon, 27, Jul 2026
- 05:49 EDT
- 25
Ambassador Latha Reddy served in the Indian Foreign Service for more than three decades. / Asia Centre Bangalore
Ambassador Latha Reddy, a former deputy national security adviser and senior Indian diplomat who served in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) for more than three decades, has died at the age of 75, the IFS Association announced.
"The IFS Association deeply mourns the sad demise of Amb. Latha Reddy (IFS: 1975). She was an illustrious member of the Indian Foreign Service," the association said in a statement.
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It noted that Reddy served as Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs and later as Deputy National Security Adviser. She also represented India as ambassador to Portugal and Thailand during her diplomatic career.
"We will miss her. Deepest condolences. Om Shanti," the association said.
Reddy joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1975 and served until 2011, according to her biography published by the Takshashila Institution, where she later served on the faculty.
During her diplomatic career, she held assignments in Lisbon, Washington, D.C., Kathmandu, Brasília, Durban, Vienna and Bangkok. She served as India's ambassador to Portugal from 2004 to 2006 before being appointed ambassador to Thailand, where she served from 2007 to 2009.
She returned to New Delhi as Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2010 to 2011, overseeing India's bilateral and regional relations across Asia.
Following her retirement from the foreign service, Reddy was appointed Deputy National Security Adviser in the Prime Minister's Office, serving from 2011 to 2013.
She worked alongside then National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and oversaw cybersecurity as well as other key internal and external security issues during her tenure.
After leaving government service, Reddy remained active in international policy, strategic affairs and cyber governance.
According to the World Economic Forum, she served as a commissioner on the Global Commission on Internet Governance from 2014 to 2016 and later became co-chair of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace.
She also served as chair of the Deccan Heritage Foundation India, a Distinguished Fellow at the EastWest Institute in the United States and the Observer Research Foundation in India, and an independent director at Jana Small Finance Bank.
The Deccan Heritage Foundation described Reddy as a distinguished career diplomat whose contributions extended beyond government service through her work in international policy, heritage conservation and strategic affairs.
Tributes poured in from members of the diplomatic community following the announcement of her death, with colleagues remembering her long career in diplomacy, public service and national security. The IFS Association said her contributions to India's foreign policy and diplomatic service would be remembered by generations of diplomats.
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