Vallilath Madhathil Madhavan Nair, the oldest living former diplomat of India, passed away here on Wednesday, two days short of his 103rd birthday. He is survived by wife Krishnakumari.
Mr. Nair joined the Indian Civil Service or the ICS in 1942 and was allotted to the Bihar Cadre. He was permanently seconded to the Indian Foreign Service on November 1, 1944. His early recruitment into the IFS during World War II meant he was present into the foreign affairs team of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru from the very beginning of the new India in 1947.
Mr. Nair served as Under Secretary in the External Affairs Department from August 1946 to September 1948. He was the Senior Under Secretary in charge of Commonwealth Relations between September '48 to July '49. This was an important position in view of the complicated relation that the newly independent India had towards the Commonwealth at that time. His foreign postings included the Embassy of India in Cairo in the early 1950s. He served as the High Commissioner of India in Kuala Lumpur during 1957-'58. In 1958, he was appointed as ambassador to Cambodia. He also served in Poland as ambassador.
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Mr. Nair was educated in Chennai and went to Oxford for his B.A. (Hons). He did his post-graduation in Cambridge. He was born on October 8, 1919. He retired from the IFS in the late 1970s.