Indian named to US State Dept post

Rajkumar Chellaraj is a graduate from Madras Univ, reports S Rajagopalan.

In the first-ever nomination of an Indian American for a senior position in the State Department, President George W Bush has named Rajkumar Chellaraj for the post of Assistant Secretary of State in the department's Bureau of Administration.

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Chellaraj, who belongs to Bush's home state of Texas, has been a senior executive officer for the US Mint at the Department of Treasury. A graduate from Madras University, he went on to receive master's degrees from three different American universities — Clarkson, New York and Harvard.

There have been a couple of Indian Americans at the level of assistant secretary in the past, but not in the State Department. Congressman Bobby Jindal did a stint as assistant secretary in the Department of Health, while Karan Bhatia was an assistant secretary in the Department of Transportation before being appointed Deputy US Trade Representative.

Chellaraj, whose nomination has been sent to the Senate for confirmation, has held a variety of leadership positions, including a stint with oil major Exxon and Strategic Analysis Incorporated. He is currently director of corporate development with the Celanese Corporation, a leading producer of industry chemicals.

At the Bureau of Administration, Chellaraj will deal with the State Department's support programmes for diplomats at home and abroad.

Chellaraj's nomination comes close on the heels of a growing number of administrative appointments for Indian Americans at the state level. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has appointed two IT professionals belonging to the community for key slots — Aneesh Chopra as secretary of technology and Vivek Kundra as assistant secretary for trade and commerce.

New York Governor George Pataki had appointed Andy Keshav Shenoy as his special adviser for South Asian affairs.