Azita Raji

Azita Raji
United States Ambassador to Sweden
Incumbent
Assumed office March 8, 2016
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Robert Gilchrist (Acting)
Personal details
Born	September 29, 1961 Tehran, Iran
Spouse(s)	Gary Syman
Children	5
Alma mater	Columbia University

Azita Raji (Persian: آزیتا راجی‎‎, born September 29, 1961) is an Iranian-born American investment banker, financial analyst and philanthropist. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in October 2014 to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to the Kingdom of Sweden,^[1] and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in February 2016.^[2][3][4] Raji will serve as the first female United States ambassador to Sweden, as well as the first Iranian-American to be a United States ambassador.^[5]

Biography

Born in Tehran, Iran, Raji completed her high school education in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she competed nationally as a downhill skier and chess player, before moving to the United States at the age of 17.^[6] She earned a B.A. in 1983 in architecture and French from Barnard College, Columbia University, followed by an M.B.A. in 1991 in Finance from Columbia Business School. Raji became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1988.

Raji is a Chartered Financial Analyst (C.F.A.) and has been a member of the Institute for Chartered Financial Analysts since 1991. She is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, an elite organization which supports international finance institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.^[7] Earlier in her career as an international investment banker, she held senior positions at firms including J.P. Morgan, Salomon Brothers and Drexel Burnham Lambert.^[8]

By 2008 Raji had left the financial sector to focus on national politics.^[9] In 2012 she served as National Finance Vice Chair and Chair of Swing State Victory Fund for the Obama campaign. Raji was a national advisory board member of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee from 2008-2012.^[10] In 2013 President Obama appointed Raji to serve as a Commissioner on The President’s Commission on White House Fellowships.^[11] In addition, Raji was appointed as a Commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Raji's philanthropic activities include numerous active leadership roles in the nonprofit sector: Trustee and member of the Executive Committee, Barnard College, Columbia University; Advisory Board, Columbia Business School Tamer Center for Social Enterprise; Founding Co-Chair, Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University; Economic Advisory Council, Center for American Progress; Director, National Partnership for Women and Families.^[12]

On July 4, 2016, Raji was recognized as an honoree of Great Immigrants: The Pride of America,^[13] the Carnegie Corporation of New York's annual recognition of inspiring naturalized U.S. citizens who have made notable contributions to the progress of American society.

Personal life

Currently based in Sweden, Raji has lived and worked in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and the Far East and is fluent in several languages, including Persian and French.^[14] She is married to Gary Syman, a former partner of Goldman Sachs. They have five daughters and seven grandchildren.^[15]

References

1. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". The White House. 23 October 2014.
2. "America's Empty Embassies". The New York Times. 29 December 2015.
3. "For Norway, an Envoy; For Cruz, a Street Name". The New York Times. 12 February 2016.
4. "Kerry Finally Fills Top Positions at State". ForeignPolicy.com. 17 February 2016.
5. "US to get first female ambassador in Sweden". The Local SE. 24 October 2014.
6. "Iranian-American woman Azita Raji Nominated For Ambassador To Sweden". Payvand Iran News. 25 October 2014.
7. "U.S. Ambassador to Sweden: Who Is Azita Raji?". allgov.com. 27 December 2014.
8. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". The White House. 6 September 2013.
9. "The Potemkin Obama Revolution On Wall Street.". RedState. 3 October 2011.
10. "Top bundler Azita Raji appointed to White House administrative post". The The American Bazaar. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
11. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". The White House. 6 September 2013.
12. "Iranian-American woman Azita Raji Nominated For Ambassador To Sweden". Payvand Iran News. 25 October 2014.
13. "2016 Great Immigrants Honorees: The Pride of America". Carnegie Corporation of New York,. 30 June 2016.
14. "The President's Commission on White House Fellowships". The White House. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
15. "Testimony of Azita Raji Nominee to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden May 20, 2015 Senate Foreign Relations Committee". Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Retrieved 20 May 2015.