In a major administrative change, the President of India on Thursday (March 5, 2026) appointed Taranjit Singh Sandhu as the new Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. He will succeed Vinai Kumar Saxena, who has been appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh after serving in Delhi from May 2022 to March 2026.
Sandhu is a former diplomat-turned-politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A 1988-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), he served as India’s Ambassador to the United States from 2020 to 2024. After retiring from diplomatic service, he was nominated as the BJP’s candidate from Amritsar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Born on January 23, 1963, in Amritsar, Punjab, Sandhu completed his BA in History from St. Stephen’s College and later obtained an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Diplomatic Career
Sandhu began his diplomatic career in 1988 with an early posting in the former Soviet Union. In 1992, he was part of the team that helped establish India’s embassy in newly independent Ukraine. Over the years, he held several key assignments including at India’s mission to the United Nations, as Consul General in Frankfurt, and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, D.C..
He later served as India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 2017 to 2020 before being appointed Ambassador to the United States. During his tenure in Washington from 2020 to 2024, Sandhu played a key role in strengthening India–US relations, including facilitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States in 2023.
Political Transition
After retiring from diplomatic service in February 2024, Sandhu joined the BJP in March the same year. His entry into politics placed him among a group of former diplomats who transitioned to political roles, including S. Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri.
Family Background
Sandhu belongs to a prominent Sikh family with a long legacy in public life. His grandfather, Teja Singh Samundri, was a noted freedom fighter and a founding member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). His father, Bishan Singh Samundri, founded Guru Nanak Dev University and also served as Principal of Khalsa College Amritsar.
His wife, Reenat Sandhu, is also a former officer of the Indian Foreign Service of 1989 batch. She retired in 2024 after a distinguished diplomatic career during which she served in several important assignments, including as India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands.
With decades of diplomatic experience and a recent entry into politics, Sandhu is now set to assume charge as Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor at a time when the national capital remains at the centre of administrative and political developments.
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