New Permanent Representative of Afghanistan Presents Credentials
(Based on information provided by the Protocol and Liaison Service)
Adela Raz, the new Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.
Prior to her latest appointment, Ms. Raz was Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation in Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, beginning in March 2016. In that capacity, she represented her country at various multilateral conferences and other forums. She also led two major Afghanistan-centred regional cooperation platforms — the Regional Economic Cooperation Conferences on Afghanistan and the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.
In November 2014, Ms. Raz was appointed Chief of Staff in the Administrative Office of the President of Afghanistan, having previously been named the President’s first female Deputy Spokesperson and Director of Communications in 2013.
From 2010 to 2013, Ms. Raz worked for an international development organization in the United States, with projects focused on Afghanistan and Central Asia. Among other accomplishments, she completed an assessment of Afghan law dealing with non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations; liaised with the Government, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations to create baseline data on human rights, political and development situations as well as gender equality; and co-authored a study on public-private cooperation in fragile States.
Ms. Raz joined the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2002.
She earned a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from Tufts University’s Fletcher School in the United States, with a focus on economic development, and a Bachelor of Arts in international relations, political science and economics from Simmons College in Boston (now Simmons University), also in the United States. She also holds a certificate in international development from the Fletcher School.
Ms. Raz is married and has a daughter.