Question

First foreign Minister of India.

• A. Gulzarilal Nanda
• B. Lal Bahadur Shastri
• C. Sardar Swaran Singh
• D. Jawaharlal Nehru

Hint:

Recall that Nehru kept the External Affairs portfolio with himself throughout his time as the first Prime Minister.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This question is about who first held the post of Minister of External Affairs, also called the Foreign Minister, in independent India. When the first Union Cabinet was formed after independence in 1947, several important portfolios were kept directly with the Prime Minister.

1. Gulzarilal Nanda: He is remembered for briefly serving as interim Prime Minister of India twice, in 1964 and 1966, and for holding portfolios like Planning and Home. He did not hold the External Affairs portfolio first.
2. Lal Bahadur Shastri: He became Prime Minister in 1964 and held Home and Railways earlier in his career, not External Affairs as the first officeholder.
3. Sardar Swaran Singh: He served as India's Minister of External Affairs later, from 1964 to 1966 and again in the 1970s, but well after independence, not as the first person to hold the post.
4. Jawaharlal Nehru: As the first Prime Minister of India, Nehru chose to keep the External Affairs portfolio with himself from 1947 until his death in 1964. This makes him India's first Foreign Minister as well as its first Prime Minister.

The correct option is Jawaharlal Nehru. He personally handled India's foreign policy in the early years, shaping its non aligned stance during the Cold War, while also serving as Prime Minister.

Let's summarize:

• Nehru held both the Prime Minister's post and the External Affairs, or Foreign Minister, portfolio together from 1947 to 1964.
• Shastri, Nanda, and Swaran Singh held important posts, but only later or in different departments, not as the first Foreign Minister.

So Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Foreign Minister of India.