The man whom President Obama chose is a specialist in security and non-proliferation. The President could not have made a better choice of India’s Ambassador, considering the strategic importance of these sensitive realms.Â
His mother was born in West Punjab, and moved to the east after Partition. His father – the first literate person in the family –taught at the University of Pittsburgh for 40 years; and his mom, a school teacher, passed away two years ago. They lived in Western Pennsylvania, and he is the youngest of the five children.
Early Life
Rahul ‘Richard’ Verma was born in 1969 to a Punjabi family. He graduated from Georgetown University (LLM), Lehigh University (JD), and American University (BS).
Career
Verma served in the US Air Force, as an Air Force judge advocate from 1994-1998. He then joined the law firm Steptoe & Johnson as an attorney.
He was a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007. He has also worked with Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. Â
In 2008, he was a member of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism. At the US Department of State, he worked as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs in 2009.
After leaving the US Department of State in 2011, he joined the Washington, DC office of Steptoe & Johnson. He is currently a member of the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.
Personal Life
Verma is married to Pinky Verma, an attorney. They reside in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC with their six-year-old twins, Lucy and Dylan, and nine year old daughter, Zoe and with their fox terrier, Arlo.