Government Leaders List 2021

2021 Government Leaders List

The 2021 Indiaspora Government Leaders List recognizes more than 200 Ieaders of the Indian diaspora who have ascended to the highest ranks of government in 15 countries across the globe.

While some are elected officials, others are appointees or civil servants. All have risen to the call for public service. Key agents in shaping politics and policy from a local to global scale, their leadership will impact generations to come.

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About

The 2021 Indiaspora Government Leaders List recognizes more than 200 Indian diaspora leaders who have ascended to the highest echelons of public service in 15 countries across the globe, with nearly 70 of these leaders holding senior, cabinet-level positions.

Methodology

To compile this list, Indiaspora researched government websites and other publicly available resources to compile a comprehensive list of diaspora leaders serving in the following positions:

Heads of government and deputy heads of government
Ministers and agency heads serving as part of a government’s cabinet
Ambassadors* and consuls general*
Parliamentarians and federal legislators*
Chief justices
Heads of central banks
Senior civil servants*
Additional U.S. leaders, including federal administration nominees and appointees, and state and local leaders

*Countries with a significant history of diaspora migration were included, such as Australia, Canada, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Officers of Indian citizenship were not included because the list aims to highlight the contributions of the diaspora.

A man in suit and tie standing next to the british flag.|A man in glasses and suit standing next to the british flag.

Ranil Jayawardena

Minister for International Trade | United Kingdom

Ranil Jayawardena

Minister Jayawardena was appointed Minister for International Trade in May 2020. He was elected as the Conservative MP for North East Hampshire in 2015. Ranil entered Parliament representing his home constituency in 2015, and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. Before serving as a minister, he was a member of the International Trade, Home Affairs, Procedure and Arms Export Controls Committees, and had been appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons to the Chairmens’ Panel.
He was also made Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party by the Prime Minister. Prior to his election to Parliament, he was a councillor, serving as deputy leader of the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane. Ranil combined his service in local government with working for Lloyds Banking Group plc and is a freeman of the City of London. He also has wide ranging commercial experience from the pharmaceutical, construction, transport and leisure sectors.
Ranil went to his local comprehensive school in north east Hampshire and studied government at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

A man standing in front of the singapore flag.

Janil Puthucheary

Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health Government Whip | Singapore

Janil Puthucheary

Minister Puthucherry is currently the Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information and the Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health. Janil has also been Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Transport,Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education, Minister of State, Ministry of Education, and Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information.
He went on to join the Duke-NUS Medical School, teaching first year medical students. Prior to entering politics he held the following posts: Senior Consultant – Children’s Intensive Care Unit, Department of Paediatric Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital Head, Department of Paediatric Subspecialties at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital Associate Professor Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. He has worked as a Paediatrician and Paediatric Intensivist.
Janil graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the Queen’s University of Belfast, and received post graduate training in Belfast (Northern Ireland), London (UK) and Sydney (Australia). He completed his training at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore and continued to work there in the Children’s Intensive Care Unit.

A woman standing in front of the flag of new zealand.

Priyanca Radhakrishnan

Minister for Diversity, Inclusion, and Ethnic Communities; Minister for Community and Voluntary Sector; Minister for Youth | New Zealand

Priyanca Radhakrishnan

Minister Radhakrishnan is the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth, and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment. Priyanca is the first person of Indian origin to become a Minister in New Zealand. She was born in India, went to school in Singapore, and then moved to New Zealand to further her education.
Priyanca is a proud union member. She is also a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network, National Council of Women (Auckland) and UN Women. She has also worked as a policy advisor to former Labour MP, Hon Phil Goff.
Priyanca holds a Master of Development Studies from Victoria University. She has two rescue dogs. Issues concerning animal welfare are also close to her heart and she’s a strong supporter of dog-friendly spaces.

A man in suit and tie standing next to the flag of guyana.|A man in a suit and tie is speaking.|A man in suit and tie standing next to the flag of guyana.

Mohamed Irfaan Ali

President of Guyana

Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, is the 9th President of Guyana, since 2020. He is a member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and holds degrees in Business Management and Public Management, along with a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies.

Ali’s political career includes roles as Minister of Housing and Water and Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, where he improved housing and infrastructure. As President, Ali focuses on economic development, leveraging Guyana’s oil reserves for sustainable growth. His administration emphasizes transparency, democratic strengthening, and equitable resource distribution. Ali is also enhancing Guyana’s foreign relations to attract investment.

He and his wife Arya happily live in Guyana and share one son. Indiaspora is proud to have Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali in our Global Government Leaders List.

A picture of the president and some words

Antonio Costa

Prime Minister

Antonio Costa

António Costa has been Portugal’s Prime Minister since 2015.

He first became a Member of Parliament in 1991, before being appointed Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1995 and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in 1997. From 1999 to 2002, he served as Minister of Justice. He then chaired the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group until 2004.

Costa served as a Member and Vice President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2005. He was then appointed Minister for Home Affairs, before being elected Mayor of Lisbon in 2007, 2009 and 2013. He also served as a Member of the European Committee of the Regions from 2010 to 2015, adding to his already extensive experience in the Council of the European Union and in the European Parliament.

A man in glasses and suit standing next to a flag.|A man in a suit and tie next to the flag of barbados.

Pravind Jugnauth

Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications

Pravind Jugnauth

Pravind Jugnauth, is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, serving since 2017. He is the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) and the son of former Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth. He holds a law degree from the University of Buckingham and a master’s in Business Law from Aix-Marseille University.

Jugnauth’s political career includes roles as Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Finance. As Prime Minister, he focuses on economic reform, infrastructure development, and enhancing Mauritius as a financial hub. His key projects include the Metro Express light rail, healthcare expansion, and educational reforms. Jugnauth emphasizes environmental sustainability and social inclusion.

He and his wife Kobitha have three daughters. His leadership aims to modernize Mauritius and achieve high-income status. Indiaspora is proud to have Pravind Jugnauth in our Global Government Leaders List.

A man in suit and tie sitting on top of a table.

Prithvirajsing Roopun

President

Prithvirajsing Roopun

Prithvirajsing Roopun serves as the seventh president of Mauritius. He was born in an Indian Hindu family and grew up in Morcellement St. Jean, a suburb of Quatre Bornes. Roopun entered politics in 1983 and stood as candidate for the first time in 1995. He was elected in constituency No. 14, Savanne and Black River in the 2000 general election to serve the Legislative Assembly as deputy chief government whip until 2004. In 2005, he was appointed as minister of local government and solid waste management.

Roopun was elected in constituency No. 9, Flacq and Bon Accueil, in the 2010 general election. He was the deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Mauritius between 2010 and 2012. He also represented Mauritius as a member of the Pan African Parliament from 2010 to 2014, where he was deputy chair of the Committee of Transport, Industry, Communications, Energy, Science, and Technology.

From December 2014 to January 2017, Roopun served as minister of social integration and economic empowerment, having as a major responsibility the eradication of extreme poverty and the empowerment of the vulnerable groups. During his tenure, a Marshall Plan Against Poverty was elaborated with the support of the UNDP and a scheme providing for a subsistence allowance for families living in extreme poverty was introduced.

From January 2017 to November 2019, he served as minister of arts and culture. During his tenure, he chaired the UNESCO 13th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage during which reggae music of Jamaica was inscribed on the representative list.

A man with glasses and a shirt in front of an image of the flag.

Chandrikapersad Santokhi

President

Chandrikapersad Santokhi

Politician Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi, whose grandparents were taken to Surinam from Bihar, India, to work as indentured laborers during the 19th century, was born on February 3, 1959, in Lelydorp, Surinam. He is a member of the Progressive Reform Party, which was once an ethnic Hindustani party, that won 20 of the 51 seats in the National Assembly. He is the youngest in a family of nine children. His father was employed at the harbor of Paramaribo, the capital city, and his mother was a shop assistant in Lelydorp. Information regarding their names is not available.

In 1978 at the age of 19, Santokhi received a scholarship to study at the Nederlandse Politieacademie in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Research in 1982 and worked as Police Commissioner for Paramaribo. In 1989, he was named the head of the national criminal investigation department, and two years later, in 1991, Santokhi was appointed chief commissioner of police for Surinam.

From 2005 to 2010, Santokhi was Minister of Justice and Police of the Republic of Surinam. He was elected as Chair of the CICAD, the autonomous body of the Organization of American States that coordinates the drug policy of the Western Hemisphere. He received the “Great Officer of the Yellow Star,” a state decoration, in 2010. In 2011, he was elected Chairman of the ‘Vooruitstrevende Hervormings Partij, the Progressive Reform Party.

Chandrikapersad and Mellisa Kavitadevi Seenacherry, an attorney and Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Police, were married in a Hindu ceremony on July 19, 2020. He is the father of four children, two from a previous marriage.

A man in suit and tie with the british flag behind him.

Rishi Sunak

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak was appointed by King Charles III as Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party on Diwali. The 42-year-old former Chancellor of Exchequer, a devout Hindu, is the youngest British prime minister in 210 years. He is also the first Hindu Prime Minister of Indian heritage in the UK. Sunak has been a member of the Conservative Party for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.

Sunak worked for the investment bank Goldman Sachs as an analyst between 2001 and 2004. He has also worked for the hedge fund management firm The Children’s Investment Fund Management and became a partner of the company in 2006. He joined Theleme Partners in 2010. Sunak was also a director of Catamaran Ventures, an investment firm owned by his father-in-law.

He was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (Yorks) in October 2014. He was the head of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Research Unit of the think tank Policy Exchange in the same year. In 2015, he became MP from the constituency with a majority of 36.2 per cent votes. From 2015-17, he was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. Sunak was re-elected from his seat in the 2017 general elections. From 2018 to 2019, he served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government.

In 2019, he was appointed Chief Secretary to Treasury by Boris Johnson and also became a member of the Privy Council. He was re-elected in the 2019 general election. Sunak, on July 5, 2022, resigned from his post along with minister Sajid Javid, expressing a lack of confidence in Johnson’s leadership. Later that week, Sunak announced his prime ministerial bid, and topped the first two rounds of the race within the Conservative party.

A woman standing in front of an american flag.

Kamala Harris

Vice President of the United States

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is the 49th Vice President of the United States (2021– ) in the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden She is the first woman, the first Black American and the first Asian American to hold the post. She had previously served in the U.S. Senate and as a attorney general of California. In early August 2024, Harris was officially named the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee following her victory in a virtual vote of party delegates.

In 2012 Harris delivered a memorable address at the Democratic National Convention, raising her national profile. Widely considered a rising star within the party, she was recruited to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Barbara Boxer, who was retiring. In early 2015 Harris declared her candidacy, and on the campaign trail she called for immigration and criminal-justice reform, an increase in the minimum wage, and protection of women’s reproductive rights. She easily won the 2016 election.

When she took office in January 2017, Harris became the first Indian American and only the second Black American woman in the Senate. She joined the Congressional Black Caucus as well as the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She also began serving on both the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Judiciary Committee, among other assignments.

A man in a suit and tie standing next to an image of the flag.|A man in a suit and tie standing next to an image of the flag.|A man in a suit and tie smiling for the camera.|A man in a suit and tie standing next to an image of the flag.

Bharrat Jagdeo

Vice President of Guyana

Bharrat Jagdeo

Bharrat Jagdeo, is a prominent Indo-Guyanese politician serving as the Vice President of Guyana since 2020. He previously served as the President of Guyana from 1999 to 2011, becoming one of the youngest heads of state at the time. His presidency was marked by significant economic reforms, leading to consistent economic growth, improved education, and expanded housing and infrastructure.

Jagdeo is also renowned for his global advocacy on climate change, spearheading the Low Carbon Development Strategy which attracted international investments, including a substantial partnership with Norway. After his presidency, he served as the Leader of the Opposition before returning to government as Vice President under President Irfaan Ali. Jagdeo continues to hold global leadership roles in sustainable development and climate initiatives. Indiaspora is proud to have Bharrat Jagdeo in our Global Government List.

A man with a beard and tie in front of an orange

Leo Varadkar

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Leo Varadkar

The son of an Irish nurse and a Indian-born doctor, he was Ireland’s youngest and first gay leader. The future Irish leader was born on 18 January 1979 in Dublin. His father Ashok – a doctor from Mumbai – met his mother Miriam, an Irish nurse, while they were both working in Slough in Berkshire. The couple settled in Ireland in the 1970s. Mr Varadkar followed his father into medicine, qualifying as a GP in 2010.

He became a councillor aged 24 and, in 2007, he was elected to the Irish parliament, Dáil Éireann. He rose to power after a turbulent decade of boom to bust. Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economy crashed spectacularly in 2007 amid the worldwide financial crisis, and the previous government had to accept a £71bn international bailout.

In the aftermath, Fine Gael came to power at the head of a coalition in 2011 and Mr Varadkar got his first ministerial appointment as transport, tourism and sport. By 2014, the doctor had become Ireland’s health minister. At the age of 38, he became Ireland’s youngest prime minister.

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2021 Government Leaders List

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