A sports enthusiast, an avid reader, a passionate traveller in love with nature, a compulsive writer who has an eye for photography, Ashok Lavasa is also a former civil servant.
He was born in Jaipur, received his primary education in Gujarat, completed his schooling at the Belgaum military school, studied at Delhi University for his master's in English literature, obtained his MPhil from Madras University and went to Southern Cross University in Australia for his MBA.
An IAS officer of the 1980 batch, Lavasa served in various capacities in his cadre state Haryana and in the Government of India. He was Secretary in the ministries of Civil Aviation, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and Finance. After retiring as the Finance Secretary of India, he served as one of the three Election Commissioners of India overseeing the 2019 general elections. He resigned from the post in August 2020.
He is currently Vice President of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines. 
