Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (1896-1974) was an Indian lawyer, publicist, ambassador, foreign policy advisor, and member of India's Parliament. He was also one of the most influential men in India as the principal aide to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in foreign policy.

Krishna Menon was born on May 3, 1896, near Calicut in what is now the southern Indian state of Kerala. His father was a lawyer. After receiving a bachelor's degree at Madras Presidency College, Menon worked in the Indian Boy Scout movement for 4 years. In 1924 he left for England, where he remained for over a quarter century, ultimately serving there between 1947 and 1952 as India's high commissioner (ambassador).

In England, Menon studied at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he took a bachelor of science degree with honors and a master of science degree. He was profoundly influenced at LSE by the neo-Marxist thought of Professor Harold Laski...