KATHMANDU: Shanker Das Bairagi, former Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal, has assumed the position of Chairman of the Institute for Strategic and Socio-Economic Research (ISSR), a Kathmandu-based think tank.
Bairagi was formally welcomed at a ceremony held at Pavilion Hall, Kathmandu, on Friday. The event was attended by former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha and members of the ISSR Board of Directors, including Naresh Shrestha.
Prior to this appointment, Bairagi held several distinguished positions in the Government of Nepal.
He served as the 25th Chief Secretary beginning October 1, 2020. Before that, he served as Foreign Secretary from October 2015 and had been Acting/Officiating Foreign Secretary since February 2014—accumulating seven years in one of the nation’s most critical diplomatic roles. In total, he brings over three decades of experience in civil service.
From February 2012 to November 2013, Bairagi served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Office, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and several other international organizations in Geneva, Vienna, and Rome.
During this time, he was also appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Switzerland, with concurrent accreditation to Italy. In 2013, he coordinated the Consultative Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the WTO, playing a pivotal role during the Ninth Ministerial Conference (Bali Package).
He also led the LDC Group at UNCTAD XIII in Doha in 2012 and headed Nepal’s delegations to various international bodies including the UN Human Rights Council, World Health Assembly, WIPO, and UNHCR.
Between November 2009 and February 2012, he served as Deputy Permanent Representative/Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Nations in New York. In this capacity, he coordinated the Group of 77 and China in the intergovernmental negotiations on the Istanbul Programme of Action for LDCs, and represented LDCs during discussions on the outcome of the 2010 High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He also presided over the 66th Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly on December 21, 2009, in Nepal’s capacity as one of the Assembly’s Vice-Presidents.
His earlier diplomatic assignments included serving as Second/First Secretary at the Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi (1995–1998); Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister-Counsellor at the Embassy of Nepal to the Benelux countries and Mission to the European Union (2000–2004); and Chargé d’affaires a.i./Minister-Counsellor/Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Nepal in Canberra, Australia (2007–2009), where he was instrumental in establishing Nepal’s residential embassy.
Bairagi has been part of numerous high-level official delegations, accompanying the President and Prime Minister of Nepal on visits to countries including China, India, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Myanmar, as well as participating in global forums such as the UN General Assembly, World Economic Forum in Davos, and ILO Centenary Session in Geneva.
In November 2018, he represented Nepal at the Paris Peace Forum, commemorating the centenary of the end of World War I.
He has also actively contributed to the success of regional organizations such as SAARC and BIMSTEC, playing a key role in organizing the 18th SAARC Summit (2014) and 4th BIMSTEC Summit (2018) in Kathmandu.
He chaired multiple sessions of the SAARC Standing Committee and BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meetings.
Additionally, he has attended the United Nations General Assembly on numerous occasions (1994, 2005, 2009–2011, and 2014–2018) and participated in international events such as the Asian-African Conference, the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NASAP), and the World Future Energy Summit. In 2018, he led Nepal’s delegation to the High-Level Segment of the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council, following Nepal’s election to the Council for the first time.
He has led bilateral consultation meetings with several key international partners, including China, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, and Turkey.
In 2018, he also participated as a panelist at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, where he addressed the theme “Towards a Bay of Bengal Community: Development, Growth, and Security.”
Within Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bairagi held a wide range of responsibilities, including as Joint Secretary of the Multilateral Economic Affairs Division, Under Secretary for the Europe and Americas Division, South Asia Division, and SAARC Section, as well as desk officer for India, Bhutan, and the UN/International Law section.
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