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

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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.

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Senior Congress Strategist and Pro Indo-US ties
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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

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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.

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A Momentary Break with Congress
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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.

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Personal Background
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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.
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