PRANAB MUKHERJEE NAMED INDIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 007338 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2016 TAGS: PGOV INR PINR IN SUBJECT: PRANAB MUKHERJEE NAMED INDIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) After much delay, Prime Minister Singh named Pranab Kumar Mukherjee to fill the External Affairs Minster slot vacated by the departure of K. Natwar Singh in December 2005. PM Singh has been acting as MEA Minister since K. Natwar Singh's exit under a cloud for his alleged role in the oil for food scandal (reftel). The naming of Mukherjee confirms that Natwar will not be back. See Paragraphs 3-9 for a biography of Mukherjee. ¶2. (C) Mukherjee, long one of the most senior and experienced of Congress Party leaders, is extremely ambitious and considers himself the heir apparent to replace PM Manmohan Singh when he departs. Mukherjee already acts as the de-facto Deputy Prime Minister and has the confidence of Party President Sonia Gandhi and other leaders, although they remain suspicious of him, and do not want to provide him with an opportunity to push Manmohan Singh aside. Reports indicate that Mukherjee has not been comfortable with the possibility of being named MEA Minister, for fear that it would diminish his domestic political clout. His new position requires Mukherjee to travel out of the country, reducing the amount of time he can devote to cultivating his domestic stronghold in West Bengal. -------------- Senior Congress Strategist and Pro Indo-US ties -------------- ¶3. (C) Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (68) is one of the Congress Party's most highly regarded stalwarts and strategists, and has long been a close advisor to Sonia Gandhi. Although technically, his portfolio as Defense Minister fell behind that of the Home Affairs portfolio, occupied by Shivraj Patil, Mukherjee has long been regarded by most political insiders as the most senior figure in the UPA Cabinet, whose long-standing ambition to become Prime Minister is common knowledge. Mukherjee is frequently tagged in the press as the country's at times de-facto Prime Minister, as he chairs Cabinet meetings in the Prime Minister's absence. ¶4. (C) After the Congress electoral victory of 2004, he was originally slated to become the Home Minister, but was given Defense to prevent him from challenging PM Singh's leadership and to give Singh sufficient breathing space to develop into an effective Prime Minister. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from West Bengal in the 2004 national elections with support from the state's ruling Communists, with whom he maintains close ties. As a Bengali, he shares the same ethnicity as much of the leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist),West Bengal's ruling party. With the CPI(M) firmly in control in the state, Mukherjee is well-aware that he cannot nurture his constituency or rise to greater stature without Communist backing and assent. In any case, Mukherjee belongs to the Left wing of the Congress and his personal ideology overlaps with that of the Communists in many areas. Known to be on amiable terms with the CPI(M),Mukherjee acts as the unofficial liaison between Congress and the Left Front parties to smooth out problems in the relationship and ensure Left Front support for the UPA. A Congress Working Committee member, he has favored stronger ties with the US, including more economic and trade cooperation. ¶5. (U) Mukherjee,s experience in government has been NEW DELHI 00007338 002 OF 002 primarily in the economic area. In 2000-2001, he chaired the Congress party Economic Affairs Department and was President of its West Bengal unit. He served as Minister for Finance and Commerce (1993-95) in the Narasimha Rao government and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (1991-93). Working closely with the late PM Indira Gandhi, he presented three consecutive union budgets (1982, 1983 and 1984) as Finance Minister, which prompted New York-based EuroMoney magazine at that time to rate him &one of the most innovative finance ministers of the world.8 ¶6. (C) Lacking military experience, Mukherjee relied heavily on advisors for counsel on strategic and operational issues confronting the country's armed forces. He appears very supportive on the growing number of joint U.S.-India military exercises, exchanges, conferences, and training. In a December 9, 2004 meeting with Secretary Rumsfeld Mukherjee stated his desire to diversify India's arms supply, but raised concerns about the slowness of the U.S. arms licensing process. -------------- A Momentary Break with Congress -------------- ¶7. (SBU) After the assassination of his mentor Indira Gandhi in 1984, Mukherjee failed to maintain good relations with her son and successor Rajiv Gandhi, who expelled him from Congress in 1986, reportedly for showing too much ambition. In response, the frustrated Mukherjee launched his own party (the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress Party) in 1987, but it failed to win a single seat when it contested the West Bengal Assembly elections in 1987. Rajiv Gandhi took him back into Congress in 1988, considering his exit a brief aberration from a long career dedicated to the party. -------------- Personal Background -------------- ¶8. (U) Born into a middle-class freedom fighter's family on December 11, 1935 in West Bengal, Mukherjee has a Law degree and Masters degrees in History and Political Science from Vidyasagar College in Calcutta. After a brief career as a lecturer and a journalist, Mukherjee entered politics, joining the Bengali Congress in 1966, and soon switched to the main Congress party. Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1969 and in 1975, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 1980 and joined Indira Gandhi's Cabinet as Minister for Commerce (1980-82). Mukherjee was named to the Finance portfolio with additional charge of Commerce and Supply in 1982. ¶9. (SBU) A devout upper caste Hindu Brahmin, Mukherjee and his wife Subhra have two sons and one daughter. The author of a book, Emerging Dimensions of Indian Economy (1984),he regularly contributes articles to Indian newspapers and journals on the Indian economy and politics. He speaks English, Hindi and Bengali. He is soft spoken and articulate, but speaks English with a heavy Bengali accent that can be difficult for Americans to understand. PYATT