Ali Yavar Jung


Nawab Ali Yavar Jung Bahadur was an eminent Indian diplomat. He served as Indian Ambassador in Argentina, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Greece, France, and the United States.
He was governor of the Indian state of Maharashtra from 1971 to 1976. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, India's highest civilian honors, in 1959 and 1977, respectively.

Early life

He was born in Hyderabad to a distinguished Hyderabadi family of scholars, administrators and educators, and studied at Queen's College, Oxford, earning a degree in History.

Career

Nawab Ali Yavar Jung served as the Vice-chancellor of Osmania University from 1945 to 1946 and from 1948 to 1952. In year 1965 to 1968 he was Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. He opposed reservation on religious ground at AMU. In 1946-47 he was Minister Constitutional Affairs, Home and Educational, Public Health and Local Government in the Nizam's Governorment. He resigned from that post in 1947.
He was India's ambassador to Argentina, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Greece, France, and the United States. His personal rapport with Juan Perón, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Josip Broz Tito, Charles de Gaulle, and Lyndon B. Johnson substantially contributed to their understanding and appreciation of India's independent foreign policy.
He was appointed as governor of Maharashtra in 1971, and died during his term as governor at Mumbai's Raj Bhavan in December 1976.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, India's highest civilian honors, in 1959 and 1977, respectively. The Western Express Highway in Mumbai and The National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped located there are named after him.

Personal life

He married a French lady Alys Iffrig, but the couple got divorced. His daughter with Iffrig was Bilkees I. Latif. Bilkees' husband, his son-in-law was the Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif, the 10th Chief of the Air Staff. Later, he married Zehra Ali Yavar Jung, a social worker.