Shashi Tharoor (IPA: [ʃɐʃi t̪ɐɾuːr]; SHUH-shee thǝ-ROOR; born 9 March 1956 in London, England) is an Indian former international civil servant, diplomat, bureaucrat, politician, writer and public intellectual who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers.[1] He was formerly an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and unsuccessfully ran for the post of Secretary-General in 2006. Founder-Chairman of All India Professionals Congress,[2] he formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and on Informational Technology.