Afghanistan is known to most Americans as the site of America’s longest war.  Since 2001, the United States has sent hundreds of thousands of its sons and daughters to fight extremists and hunt-down the perpetrators of 9/11.  But Afghanistan is more than the war. Ambassador Adela Raz has a unique perspective on her country’s rich history and insights about its future.

Adela Raz is the Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States.  She is also the designated non-resident Ambassador to Argentina, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia.  She previously served as Afghanistan’s first female Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations from December 2018 until July 2021.  Raz was the Vice President of the 75th session of the General Assembly and was appointed by the President of the General Assembly to serve as the General Assembly’s co-coordinator on COVID-19-related initiatives.  In 2013, Raz was appointed as the first female Deputy Spokesperson and Director of Communication for President Karzai just after working with an international development organization in the United States.  She then became the Chief of Staff at the President’s Administrative Office in November 2014, and was appointed as Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2016.