Shashi Tharoor, the Kerala MP, lost the Congress presidential elections to veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge. Kharge, widely seen as a Gandhi loyalist, got 7,897 votes while Tharoor received 1,072 votes.
Shashi Tharoor age:
Born on March 9, 1956, Shashi Tharoor is currently 66-years-old.
Shashi Tharoor’s wives:
Tilottama Mukherji
Shashi Tharoor married Tilottama Mukherji in 1981. Mukherji is a half-Kashmiri and half-Bengali academic. She is also the granddaughter of the former Defense Minister, Kailash Nath Katju.
However, the two separated after they “grew apart,” as Tharoor previously stated in an interview. Tilottama is a humanities professor at New York University and a well-known figure on the intellectual circuits of Kolkata and New York, frequently appearing at book launches and film festivals.
Christa Giles
Tharoor married Canadian diplomat Christa Giles in 2007. Christa previously served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Disarmament Commission and is currently working as the Secretary of the UN Peacebuilding Commission.
However, their marriage was short-lived. The duo parted ways only three years after their marriage.
Sunanda Pushkar
On 22 August 2010, Tharoor married Dubai-based businesswoman Sunanda Pushkar at his ancestral home in Elavanchery village in Kerala’s Palakkad district. He became her third husband and stepfather to Shiv Menon, her son from the previous marriage.
Pushkar (51), died in the Leela Hotel in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, on January 17, 2014, under mysterious circumstances. Tharoor was charged in May 2018 with abetment of his wife’s suicide and marital cruelty under sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code. Tharoor was cleared of all charges by a Delhi court on August 18, 2021.
Shashi Tharoor’s family:
Shashi Tharoor was born on March 9, 1956, in London to Malayali couple Chandran Tharoor and Sulekha Menon from Palakkad, Kerala. Shobha and Smitha Tharoor are Tharoor’s younger sisters. His father worked as a group advertising manager for The Statesman. His paternal uncle was Parameshwaran Tharoor, who was the founder of Reader’s Digest in India.
Tharoor has two sons with his ex-wife Tilottama Mukherji. His twin children, Kanishk and Ishaan Tharoor were born prematurely in 1984. Ishaan currently writes on international affairs for The Washington Post and Kanishk is an acclaimed writer and the former editor at Open Democracy.
Also Read: Congress presidents since Independence: A list
Shashi Tharoor’s career:
Tharoor is a prestigious Indian diplomat and politician who joined the Government of India after a long career in the international diplomatic corps. He is also a well-known writer of both non-fiction and fiction works. Tharoor’s successive 23-year-career as a diplomat in the United Nations included positions such as Deputy Chief of the UNHCR Secretariat (1985-89), Special Assistant for the United States and the UN for peacekeeping (1989-96), Executive Assistant to the secretary-general (1997-2000), and under-secretary-general for communications and public information (2001–07). Tharoor was chosen as India’s official candidate for the position of Secretary-General in 2006.
In the 2007 election, he finished second out of seven candidates, losing to former South Korean diplomat and politician Ban Ki-moon. Following his defeat, Tharoor stepped down from the UN and became the chairman of a Dubai-based investment firm.
Tharoor joined the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) in 2009 and ran for the Lok Sabha in May of that year from the constituency of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Tharoor stayed active in the Lok Sabha after that, serving on committees focused on foreign affairs and defence. Tharoor was reappointed as a Union Minister of state in October 2012. In his second ministerial term, he continued to court controversy, most notably for criticising Bharatiya Janata Party leader Narendra Modi.
Tharoor’s net worth:
Tharoor’s net worth is estimated to be around Rs 35 crore. Most of the royalties come from his articles, books, and his pensions for serving in the UN. He currently earns Rs 12 lakh annually for serving as an MP.
