Shashi Tharoor is an elected member of Parliament, former minister of state for external affairs and human resource development and former Under - Secretary- general of the United Nations, Shashi Tharoor is the prize- winning, author of fourteen books, both fiction and non- fiction. A widely published critic, commentator and columnist, he served the United Nations during a twenty - nine- year career in refugee work and peacekeeping, at the Secretary - General's office and heading communications and public information. In 2006 he was India's candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary - General, and emerged a strong second out of seven contenders. He has won India's highest honour for overseas Indians, the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, and numerous literary awards, including a Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
