Ambassador R.S. Jassal Deputy Chief of Mission Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassal joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976 after graduating from Delhi University. His first assignment was at the Embassy of India in Moscow where he learned and became fluent in Russian. He was First Secretary at Warsaw between 1981-1984 serving for a period as Charge-d’ Affaires. Returning to Delhi he served as Deputy Secretary in the Americas Division in the Ministry of External Affairs between 1985 and 1988. Thereafter he did a three-year assignment as the Political Counsellor at the Embassy of India, Washington. Between 1991 and 1995 he served as Political Counsellor at the Embassy of India, Moscow. In 1995 he served briefly as Director (West Africa, North Africa) in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi and later as Joint Secretary (Central Asia) during 1996-1997. Mr. Jassal was then appointed to the post of Joint Secretary (Planning & Coordination) in the Ministry of Defence where he served between 1997 and 1999.  He was then named to be the official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs where he served with distinction from 1999-2001. In that capacity he also handled media arrangements for all official foreign visits of the Prime Minister of India and all incoming state and official visits including those of President Clinton to India in March 2000 and Prime Minister Vajpayee to Washington D.C. in September, 2000. Mr. Jassal served as India’s Ambassador to Israel from 2001-2004. During this period relations between India and Israel took rapid strides forward in all areas. Ambassador Jassal joined his new post as Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of India, Washington DC on January 17, 2005. Mr. Jassal is married to Dr. Smita Tewari Jassal. The couple have two sons.