The high commissioner of India to South Africa is the chief diplomatic representative of India to South Africa, housed in the Indian High Commission located at 852, Francis Baard Street, Arcadia 0083, Pretoria, South Africa.[1] The high commissioner is concurrently accredited to Lesotho.
| High Commissioner of India to South Africa | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
Incumbent since 2 August 2023Prabhat Kumar | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Type | High Commissioner |
| Member of | Indian Foreign Service |
| Reports to | Ministry of External Affairs |
| Seat | High Commission of India, Pretoria |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Term length | No fixed tenure |
| Website | Indian High Commissioner to South Africa |
The high commission is headed by the High Commissioner.[2] while the Consulates General located in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg are headed by a Consul General.[3]
List of Indian heads of mission
editTo Union of South Africa
editAgents of the Government of India
edit| S. No. | Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. S. Srinivasa Sastri | 1927 | 1929 |
| 2 | Kurma Venkata Reddi Naidu | 1929 | 1932 |
| 3 | Kunwar Maharaj Singh | 1932 | 1935 |
| 4 | Sir Syed Raza Ali[4] | 1935 | 1938 |
| 5 | Sir Benegal Rama Rau | 1938 | 1941 |
High Commissioners of India
edit| S. No. | Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Benegal Rama Rau | 1941 | 1941 |
| 2 | Sir Shafa'at Ahmad Khan[5] | 1941 | 1945 |
| 3 | Ramrao Deshmukh | 1945 | 23 May 1946[6] |
Interim Government of India severed diplomatic ties with apartheid Government of the Union of South Africa in 1946. India was the first country to do so.[7]
To Republic of South Africa
editIndia re-established diplomatic relation in 1993 and appointed high commissioner in 1994.
The following people have served as High Commissioners to South Africa.[8]
| S. No. | Name | Entered office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madhav Keshav Mangalmurti | 18 July 1994 | May 1996 |
| 2 | Gopalkrishna Gandhi | 1 July 1996 | 7 November 1997 |
| 3 | Lakshmi Chand Jain | 8 December 1997 | 14 October 1998 |
| 4 | Harsh Kumar Bhasin | 23 November 1998 | 14 November 2000 |
| 5 | Shiv Shankar Mukherjee | 25 November 2000 | 23 September 2004 |
| 6 | Santosh Kumar | 2 November 2004 | 28 May 2005 |
| 7 | Satyabrata Pal | 19 July 2005 | 20 October 2006 |
| 8 | Rajiv Kumar Bhatia | 22 December 2006 | 30 November 2009 |
| 9 | Virendra Gupta | 8 June 2010 | 31 August 2014 |
| 10 | Ruchi Ghanashyam | 28 October 2014 | 13 April 2017 |
| 11 | Ruchira Kamboj | 25 July 2017 | 15 March 2019 |
| 12 | Jaideep Sarkar | 19 May 2019 | 31 March 2023 |
| 13 | Prabhat Kumar | 2 April 2023 | Incumbent |
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Contact Us". www.hcipretoria.gov.in. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "High Commissioner Profile". www.hcipretoria.gov.in. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "Consulates". www.hcipretoria.gov.in. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "Syed Raza Ali". The Nehru Archive. 1882. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "Sir Shafa'at Ahmad Khan | South African History Online". sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "General South African History timeline". www.sahistory.org.za. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
- ↑ "South Africa Bilateral Relations India's link with the struggle" (PDF). www.mea.gov.in. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ↑ "Former High Commissioners". www.hcipretoria.gov.in. Retrieved 17 May 2026.