Who was the first Foreign Minister of free India?

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Foreign Minister of free India. Upon India's independence on August 15, 1947, Nehru assumed the office of Prime Minister and simultaneously held the portfolio of Minister of External and Commonwealth Affairs [t1][t4]. He served as his own foreign minister throughout his 17-year premiership until his death in 1964 [c2][t10]. During this tenure, he played a definitive role in shaping India's foreign policy, most notably through the strategy of non-alignment and the preservation of national sovereignty [c2]. While other figures like Gulzari Lal Nanda and Lal Bahadur Shastri held high cabinet positions or served as Prime Minister later, Nehru was the first to lead the Ministry of External Affairs in independent India [c3][t1]. John Mathai served as the first Railway Minister and later Finance Minister, but not as the Foreign Minister.

Sources

1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_External_Affairs_(India)
2. [2] https://www.nps.gov/people/prime-minister-nehru.htm
3. [3] Politics in India since Independence, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 4: Indi External Relations > Nehru's role > p. 57
4. [4] Introduction to the Constitution of India, D. D. Basu (26th ed.). > Chapter 35: TABLES > C. PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA > p. 534