Adela Raz


Adela Raz is an Afghan politician who currently serves as the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations. She was appointed in December 2018 as the first female to hold the office.

Early life and education

Raz's father was killed by the Taliban because he was perceived as too progressive.
Raz has a BA with majors in International Relations, Political Science and Economics from Simmons University in Boston, and an MA in Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University. She was the first Afghan to gain a H-1B1 visa.

Career

Raz worked from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. From 2010 until 2013, she worked with an international development organization in the US. She is an advocate for gender equality, women's education and human rights. She has worked to assist women develop sustainable work and participate in society.
In 2013, she was appointed Deputy Spokesperson and Director of Communications to President Hamid Karzai, the first woman to hold the positions. She became Chief of Staff in November 2014 and was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Cooperation in March 2016 at age 30. In March 2018, she was part of a delegation of Afghan women to visit Washington DC, where she spoke about the need for more women in Afghan political life and the need for the rest of the world to consider them partners, not merely victims or recipients of aid.
On 31 December 2018, President Ashraf Ghani appointed Raz as Afghanistan's permanent representative to the United Nations, replacing Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal. She is the first woman to hold the position. In March 2019, she was unanimously selected as vice president of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.