The Hindu : C.V. Narasimhan passes away

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 03, 2003

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National

C.V. Narasimhan passes away

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI NOV. 2. Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, former Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, died following cardiac arrest at his residence today. He was 88. He is survived by wife Janaki and daughters Hemalatha and Kanakalatha.

Born on May 21, 1915, Mr. Narasimhan studied at the St. Joseph's College, Tiruchi, the University of Madras and the Oxford University before joining the Indian Civil Service in 1936.

He was Deputy Secretary in the Development Department, Government of Madras, before moving to the Union Government in 1950 to join the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1953, he joined the Ministry of Finance and was incharge of the Economic Affairs Department, responsible for development and co-ordination of foreign aid programmes.

The call to the United Nations came in 1956, when he was appointed Executive Secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and Far East. Soon after, in 1958, he was appointed Under Secretary for Special Political Affairs in the U.N., to work directly under the U.N. Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjoeld, and along side Nobel laureate Ralph Bunch.

In 1961, he was appointed Chef de Cabinet in the U.N. and later served as Under Secretary-General till his retirement in 1978, after 22 years in the U.N. and under three Secretaries-General. He was then 63.

In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

Mr. Narasimhan has authored several books, including `United Nations: An Inside View', and has had a large number of articles published.

A vocalist himself, he had a deep interest in Carnatic music and was closely associated with the Music Academy. His moving tribute to the late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer appeared in this newspaper on Sunday.

He was also patron of the Sri Vedanta Desika Siddhantha Abivardhini Sabha in Srirangam, which was founded in 1917.

The funeral will he held on Monday at 11.30 a.m. at the Besant Nagar crematorium.

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