| Romesh Bhandari | |
| Office: | 13th Foreign Secretary of India |
| Term Start: | 1 February 1985 |
| Term End: | 31 March 1986 |
| Primeminister: | Rajiv Gandhi |
| Minister: | Rajiv Gandhi Bali Ram Bhagat |
| Predecessor: | M. K. Rasgotra |
| Order2: | Eleventh |
| Office2: | List of lieutenant governors of Delhi Lieutenant Governor of Delhi |
| Term Start2: | 4 August 1988 |
| Term End2: | December 1989 |
| Predecessor2: | Harkishan Lal Kapoor |
| Successor2: | Arjan Singh |
| Order3: | Third |
| Office3: | List of lieutenant governors of the Andaman and Nicobar IslandsLieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Term Start3: | December 1989 |
| Term End3: | 24 February 1990 |
| Predecessor3: | Tirath Singh Oberoi |
| Successor3: | Ranjit Singh Dayal |
| Order4: | Seventh |
| Office4: | List of Governors of TripuraGovernor of Tripura |
| Term Start4: | 15 August 1993 |
| Term End4: | 15 June 1995 |
| Predecessor4: | K. V. Raghunatha Reddy |
| Successor4: | Prof. Siddheswar Prasad |
| Order5: | Sixth |
| Office5: | List of Governors of GoaGovernor of Goa |
| Term Start5: | 16 June 1995 |
| Term End5: | 18 July 1996 |
| Predecessor5: | Gopala Ramanujam |
| Successor5: | P.C. Alexander |
| Order6: | Sixth |
| Office6: | List of Governors of Uttar PradeshGovernor of Uttar Pradesh |
| Term Start6: | 19 July 1996 |
| Term End6: | 17 March 1998 |
| Predecessor6: | Mohammad Shafi Qureshi |
| Successor6: | Mohammad Shafi Qureshi |
| Birth Date: | 29 March 1928 |
| Birth Place: | Lahore, Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan) |
| Death Place: | New Delhi, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Spouse: | Kumudesh Bhandari |
| Children: | 2 |
| Profession: | Diplomat Administrator |
| Parents: | Amar Nath Bhandari (father) Padma Bhandari (mother) |
Romesh Bhandari (29 March 1928 – 7 September 2013) was an Indian diplomat and administrator. Bhandari, during his career, served in various positions, including as the Indian Foreign Secretary, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Governor of Tripura, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.[1]
Romesh Bhandari was born in Lahore, Punjab Province, British India (present day Pakistan) on 29 March 1928. He was the son of Amar Nath Bhandari, a Punjab High Court Judge who was part of the bench which decided the Mahatma Gandhi Assassination case.[2] His mother was Padma Bhandari, and he had two siblings.[3]
He joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1950 as the Vice-Consul at the consulate in New York.[4] He was minister in the Indian Embassy at Moscow from 1970 to 1971. He was the Indian ambassador to Thailand, Permanent Representative to UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East from 1971 to 1974 and the Indian ambassador to Iraq from 1974 to 1976.[5] He then returned to the Ministry of External Affairs as Additional Secretary from February 1977 to July 1979. He was promoted as Secretary on 1 August 1979 and was appointed Foreign Secretary on 1 February 1985. He retired from service on 31 March 1986.[1] In 1984, Bhandari brought back to India the extradited hijackers of the Indian Airlines Flight 421 from Dubai in 1984.[6]
He was the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi from 4 August 1988 to December 1989 and of the Andaman and Nicobar islands from December 1989 to 24 February 1990.[7] He was the Governor of Tripura from 15 August 1993 to 15 June 1995, Governor of Goa from 16 June 1995 to 18 July 1996 and Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 19 July 1996 to 17 March 1998.[8] [9] [10] During his tenure as Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Bhandari's recommendation to dismiss the Kalyan Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state in 1997 led to a significant crisis for the central government, which ultimately had to reinstate the BJP's state government.
Bhandari was married to Kumudesh Bhandari, daughter of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and a member of the Phulkian dynasty. He and Kumudesh had two children, one son and one daughter. Through his wife, Bhandari's brother-in-law was the businessman Vipin Khanna, a member of the Khanna family.[11] Bhandari died on the night of 7 September 2013 after a prolonged illness.[12]