Lakshmi Puri, the youngest entrant into the Indian Foreign Service, had an illustrious career spanning multiple domains. After representing India abroad in key bilateral and multilateral diplomatic assignments for 28 years, including serving as Ambassador to Hungary and Bosnia Herzegovina, she transitioned to the United Nations, where she worked for 15 years in various leadership roles. She served as Director of the flagship International Trade Division of UNCTAD, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the founding Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, contributing to the UN's initiatives on peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, human rights, and humanitarian action. A recipient of the prestigious Eleanor Roosevelt Prize for Human Rights, among other honors, she is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Indian Association of International Studies (IAIS) and a visiting professor at the South Asian University in New Delhi. Additionally, she is the author of the critically acclaimed national bestseller *Swallowing the Sun*.