Kamalesh Sharma elected chancellor of UK university

Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Aug 25 (PTI) Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General
of the Commonwealth and India's former high commissioner to
Britain, has been appointed as the new chancellor of the
Queen's University Belfast (QUB).

He succeeds Senator George Mitchell, who stepped down
in March.

Sharma retired from the Indian Foreign Service in
2001. From 2002 to 2004 he was the UN Secretary General's
Special Representative to East Timor. He was appointed India's
High Commissioner in London in 2004 before his election as
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth in 2007.

Pro-Chancellor Sir David Fell, chair of the
university's governing body which made the appointment, said:
"Kamalesh Sharma is a worthy successor to Senator Mitchell. He
is an exceptional figure who has served his country at the
highest level and whose leadership skills have been recognised
by the 53 member states which make up the Commonwealth.

"As High Commissioner in London, he cemented close
links between Northern Ireland and India - it is a
relationship which has resulted in India becoming the second
largest inward investor in the Northern Ireland economy."

Speaking after his appointment, Sharma said: "I am
enormously proud to be invited to serve Queen's University and
look forward to contributing towards strengthening its
internationalist outlook.

"Queen's is a forward-looking institution which
recognises that in today's world there are no borders; rather
we are all part of a common humanity. The University's
research has made a dramatic impact on the world. I hope that
I will be able to help the University, its staff and students,
and the wider community it serves, become even better
connected to the world in which we live." PTI PS
PMR