A diplomat of a rare breed who made civil servants display the rarer asset of a spine died yesterday in Bangalore aged 84. A.P. Venkateswaran was dismissed as foreign secretary at a nationally televised media conference by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in January 1987.

He resigned within hours before Rajiv had a chance to put his pronouncement on paper.

Venkateswaran took many circumstantial factors that contributed to his dismissal to the grave because Rajiv sought -- and he gave -- an assurance to the Prime Minister that he would maintain the confidentiality and the dignity of his office and would not launder any dirty linen in public.  Read


Also read: A diplomat who served India well. RIP APV!