Venu Rajamoni, a career diplomat, has been appointed as press secretary to president Pranab Mukherjee.

It has been a custom to have a media advisor to the president who has a world-view perspective. In keeping with this tradition, Pranab-da chose the IFS officer.

Rajamoni is joint secretary in the finance ministry dealing with the international cooperation division. Earlier he was a consul in Dubai and held Washington postings as an IFS officer. He was a reporter with a national daily in Kerala before joining the IFS.

He is known to have a good rapport with almost all political parties. He was private secretary to Yashwant Sinha, when the BJP leader was foreign minister and also briefly with Natwar Singh. He is a very good speech writer and it was he who wrote many of the UN speeches of our foreign ministers.