From Ambassadors to Envoys: Indian-origin professionals appointed to key diplomatic roles in 2026

(Sep 28, 2026)  Angad Singh Dhillon’s appointment as Canada’s Ambassador to the UAE on September 25, 2026, is the latest among a series of significant appointments involving Indian-origin professionals. Dhillon, Tammy Sandhu, Aly-Khan Rajani and Varun Chandra have each built careers in the countries they call home and now represent them in roles spanning diplomacy, consular affairs, trade and investment.

The Global Indian takes a look at the four professionals and the career journeys that led them to these international roles.

Angad Singh Dhillon appointed Canada’s Ambassador to the UAE

From agricultural roots in Punjab to Canada’s diplomatic service in Abu Dhabi

Angad Singh Dhillon’s Canadian journey began soon after he arrived in the country at 19 in 2010. After schooling at Yadavindra Public School in Mohali, Punjab and studying at Mahindra United World College in Pune, he moved to Canada and studied International Relations at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. Five years later, he entered Canadian politics as a field organiser for the Liberal Party in Peel during the 2015 federal election campaign.

That first political role became the starting point for a rapid move into the heart of Canadian public life. Dhillon went on to Ottawa and joined the Liberal Research Bureau, working in outreach and operations and contributing to policy-related work involving South Asian and East European communities. He subsequently worked with federal ministers and became chief of staff to two Cabinet ministers responsible for the small business and transport portfolios. The roles also brought him into Canada’s international engagements, including the G7, G20, United Nations General Assembly, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the International Transport Forum.

His next move took him to the Prime Minister’s Office. As Director of Operations and Stakeholder Relations, Dhillon became part of Mark Carney’s senior team, working on efforts to re-engage Canada with key bilateral partners, including India and China. He also led stakeholder coordination for incoming investment commitments and the development and planning of Canada’s inaugural national Investment Summit.

Now, that political and government experience is taking him into formal diplomacy. On September 25, 2026, Canada announced Dhillon as its next Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the UAE. Dhillon’s family traces its roots to Ghungrana village in Ludhiana district, with a longstanding association with public life and agriculture in the region.

Tammy Sandhu appointed Britain’s Ambassador to the Holy See

From a second-generation upbringing in Leicester to a Vatican posting in Rome

From Leicester to Rome, Tammy Sandhu’s diplomatic career has taken her across continents and some of Britain’s most important overseas postings. Her appointment as the UK’s next Ambassador to the Holy See makes her the first woman of Indian origin to represent Britain as an ambassador. She met Pope Leo in Rome on August 28, 2026.

Born Tarandip Kaur Sandhu in Leicester, Sandhu’s international outlook began early. She spent part of her school years at Li Po Chun United World College in Hong Kong before studying English literature at the University of Warwick in the UK and earning a master’s degree in international public policy from University College London.

She joined the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in 2005, beginning a diplomatic career that would take her from parliamentary relations and counter-terrorism work to postings across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. From 2009 to 2012, she served as Second Secretary at the British Embassy in Morocco.

Her subsequent assignments included Deputy Head of Mission in Chennai, India, Deputy Spokesperson at the UK Representation to the EU in Brussels, and diplomatic postings in Iraq, Kenya and Morocco. She later served as His Majesty’s Consul General in San Francisco, leading UK-US engagement across California and the Pacific Northwest.

In 2020, Sandhu became Director of the Ethnic and Racial Diversity Unit, where she worked on racial equity within Britain’s diplomatic service. Her advocacy in this area later earned her an MBE. More than two decades after joining Britain’s diplomatic service, Sandhu’s appointment to the Holy See places her at the heart of the UK’s relationship with the Vatican, adding a historic dimension to a career shaped by international diplomacy and public service.

Aly-Khan Rajani appointed Canada’s Consul General in Rio de Janeiro

From a family shaped by displacement to Canada’s diplomatic service in Brazil

Announced by Global Affairs Canada in June 2026, Aly-Khan Rajani became Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, replacing François Jubinville.

His family history spans two continents and is marked by displacement. His ancestors fled India for Africa, while his parents were later expelled from Uganda in 1972 because they were Asian. Rajani was born in Vancouver to immigrants who arrived with nothing and grew up in Edmonton. He earned a BA Honours in Political Science and International Development from the University of Toronto in 2002, followed by a Master of Public Administration in National Security from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2013.

His early career was humanitarian rather than diplomatic. He worked for several years with UN-Habitat, CARE International and CARE Canada in humanitarian emergency coordination before joining the Canadian International Development Agency in 2007.

His subsequent postings took him across regions dealing with conflict, development and international cooperation. He served as senior adviser on the Afghanistan Task Force, held postings in Cairo and Beirut as head of cooperation, and worked in New Delhi as head of advocacy and public affairs. In 2023, he was named Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan.

Rio de Janeiro marks his latest posting in a career defined by humanitarian and development work across some of the world’s most challenging assignments.

Varun Chandra appointed UK’s special envoy to the US on trade and investment

From Bihar roots to the heart of UK-US trade and investment

Varun Chandra was named the UK’s special envoy to the United States on trade and investment in January 2026. The role was added to his existing position as the Prime Minister’s Chief Business, Investment and Trade Adviser at Downing Street.

Born in South Shields, northeast England, to Indian immigrant parents from Bihar, Chandra grew up in a family shaped by public service. His father was a doctor recruited by the National Health Service. Chandra attended the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, on a scholarship, before studying philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, from 2003 to 2006.

He built a career in elite corporate advisory, rising to managing partner at Hakluyt & Company from 2019 to 2024 and founding chairman of Hakluyt Capital, a venture capital fund. In 2024, then UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Chandra as his special adviser on business and investment. Chandra left a lucrative private-sector career, resigning from a role that had paid him more than £2 million a year to enter government.

He was later shortlisted for the position of UK ambassador to Washington but was not selected. Instead, in January 2026, he was appointed the UK’s special envoy to the United States on trade and investment, alongside his role as the Prime Minister’s Chief Business, Investment and Trade Adviser. His brief is to advance British economic interests in the US, its largest single-country trading relationship, worth more than $450 billion annually.

Since taking on the role, he has held discussions with senior executives at major US technology companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, Apple and Meta. He was also at Chequers for the signing of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement. For Chandra, who has spoken about being very proud of his Indian heritage, the UK-India agreement offered a personal connection to a major piece of the work he now does at the heart of British government.

From Angad Singh Dhillon’s first ambassadorship to Tammy Sandhu’s historic Vatican posting, Aly-Khan Rajani’s consular role in Brazil and Varun Chandra’s trade brief in Washington, 2026 has brought four Indian-origin professionals into consequential positions.Their immigrant journeys, rooted in Punjab, Leicester, Vancouver and Bihar, bring together Indian heritage and careers built in the countries they call home, where they now represent their countries in diplomatic and economic roles.

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