Brajesh (or Brijesh) Chandra Mishra was the first National Security Advisor and principal secretary to the former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.[1][2][3][4][5]
Mishra's father, the late Dwarka Prasad Mishra was a staunch politician from the Congress Party and very close to Indira Gandhi.
He was the first non-IAS principal secretary to the Prime Minister of India. After Brijesh Mishra, the post of principal secretary to the Prime Minister became such a powerful one that it eclipsed the status of cabinet ministers.
Brajesh Mishra, a former Indian Foreign Service officer, was the country's first National Security Advisor under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In April 1991, Mishra joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, which he quit in March 1998 to become principal secretary to the Prime Minister. From November 1998 to May 23, 2004, he was also the National Security Advisor.
As Vajpayee's troubleshooter he was one of the most powerful principal secretaries the PMO had ever seen.
He was the key motivator of foreign policy and principal spokesman on all major issues. And the opportunities for him were endless. From Pokhran-2 to Kashmir, and from Vajpayee's historic visit to Pakistan to engaging the United States in a strategic dialogue, he was behind a never-ending series of foreign policy and security manoeuvres.
Born on September 29, 1928, Mishra's father, the late D.P. Mishra, was a former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Brajesh Mishra was ambassador and India's permanent representative in Geneva and India's ambassador to Indonesia. He was also India's permanent representative to the United Nations from June 1979 to April 1981. He continued with the United Nations, on deputation, till June 1987.
After demitting office, he had initially expressed reservations against the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal following which the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had him briefed specially to address the concerns Mr. Mishra had about the deal. Thenafter Mr. Brajesh Mishra extended his support to the deal and publicly endorsed the deal. (This latter position of his was found to be at variance with the Bharatiya Janata Party's, the party to which he once belonged to and in whose government he had been the National Security Advisor of the country, which was opposed to the deal.)
He has been awarded Padma Vibhushan in Year 2011.
He is also awarded Padma shree award in 2011. to
| Preceded by Post created |
National Security Advisor 1998–2004 |
Succeeded by Jyotindra Nath Dixit |