Azita Raji Explained

Azita Raji
Office:United States Ambassador to Sweden
President:Barack Obama
Term Start:March 8, 2016
Term End:January 20, 2017
Predecessor:Mark Brzezinski
Successor:Ken Howery
Birth Date:29 September 1961
Birth Place:Tehran, Iran
Death Place:Belvedere, California, U.S.
Spouse:Gary Syman
Children:5
Alma Mater:Barnard College (BA)
Columbia University (MBA)

Azita Raji (Persian: آزیتا راجی, September 29, 1961  - February 6, 2022) was an Iranian-born American diplomat, banker, and philanthropist. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in October 2014[1] to serve as the United States ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden,[2] and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in February 2016.[3] [4] [5] She presented her credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf on March 15, 2016,[6] [7] and completed her tour of duty on January 20, 2017.[8] [9]

Ambassador Raji was nominated for the State Department's highest award for a non-career ambassador, the Sue M. Cobb Prize for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. She was the first female United States ambassador to Sweden, as well as the first Iranian-born American to serve as an ambassador of the United States.[10]

Early life

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.[11] She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 in architecture and French from Barnard College, Columbia University, followed by a Master of Business Administration in 1991 in Finance from Columbia Business School. Raji became a U.S. citizen in 1988.[12]

Career

Financial and philanthropic

Raji was a Chartered Financial Analyst (C.F.A.) and was a member of the Institute for Chartered Financial Analysts since 1991.[13] She was 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.[14] Earlier in her career as an international investment banker, she held senior positions at firms including J.P. Morgan & Co., Salomon Brothers and Drexel Burnham Lambert.[15]

Raji's past philanthropic activities have included numerous active leadership roles in the nonprofit sector:[16] 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 & Families.[11]

Political

By 2008, Raji had left the financial sector to focus on national politics. 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 to 2012.[17] In 2013, President Obama appointed Raji to serve as a Commissioner on The President's Commission on White House Fellows.[15] In addition, Raji was appointed a Commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.[18]

On July 4, 2016, Raji was recognized as an honoree of Great Immigrants: The Pride of America, 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.[19]

On December 10, 2016, as the United States Ambassador to Sweden, Raji read Bob Dylan's letter to the Nobel Committee on his behalf during the Nobel banquet in Stockholm, in recognition of Dylan being awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.[20] [21] [22] [23]

Raji was an honoree of the 2017 Ellis Island Medal of Honor[24] [25] and the Recipient of Barnard College's Joan Rivers Trailblazer Award 2020.[26]

Personal life

Raji lived and worked in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East and was fluent in several languages, including Persian and French.[27] She was married to Gary Syman, a former partner of Goldman Sachs.[28] They have five daughters and seven grandchildren.[29]

Raji died on February 6, 2022, in Belvedere, California from metastatic breast cancer at the age of 60.[30] [31] [32]

Published articles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Report for the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. February 2015. The White House.
  2. Web site: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts. whitehouse.gov. National Archives. October 23, 2014.
  3. Web site: America's Empty Embassies. December 29, 2015. The New York Times.
  4. Web site: For Norway, an Envoy; For Cruz, a Street Name. February 12, 2016. The New York Times.
  5. Web site: Kerry Finally Fills Top Positions at State. February 17, 2016. ForeignPolicy.com.
  6. Web site: Ambassador to Sweden presents her credentials. March 22, 2016. U.S. Embassy in Sweden.
  7. Web site: Formal audiences at the Royal Palace of Stockholm. March 15, 2016. U.S. Embassy in Sweden.
  8. Web site: The King holds a farewell audience with the USA's ambassador. January 16, 2017. U.S. Embassy in Sweden. February 10, 2017. November 19, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211119210647/https://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalfamily/latestnews/latestnews/thekingholdsafarewellaudiencewiththeusasambassador.5.2647d2fa159447c25a59ac.html. dead.
  9. Web site: DN Debatt. "Inclusion, freedom, and democracy are non-negotiable values". February 5, 2017. DN.debatt.
  10. Web site: US to get first female ambassador in Sweden. October 24, 2014. The Local SE.
  11. Web site: Iranian-American woman Azita Raji Nominated For Ambassador To Sweden. October 25, 2014. Payvand Iran News.
  12. Web site: US Confirms First Iranian-American Ambassador. March 9, 2016 . US Iran.org. February 9, 2022.
  13. Web site: Azita Raji. November 21, 2012. Columbia. February 9, 2022.
  14. Web site: Member's Corner. October 2014. The Bretton Woods Committee.
  15. Web site: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts. whitehouse.gov. National Archives. September 6, 2013.
  16. Web site: Report for the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. February 2015. The White House.
  17. Web site: Top bundler Azita Raji appointed to White House administrative post. The American Bazaar. September 7, 2013.
  18. News: Obama's top fundraiser Azita Raji is new US ambassador to Sweden. Times of India. October 25, 2014 . February 9, 2022.
  19. Web site: 2016 Great Immigrants Honorees: The Pride of America. June 30, 2016. Carnegie Corporation of New York.
  20. Web site: Bob Dylan Nobel Prize Speech. December 11, 2016. YouTube.
  21. How Does It Feel, by Patti Smith. December 14, 2016. The New Yorker.
  22. Web site: The Royal Family attend the Nobel Banquet. December 10, 2016. Swedish Royal Court. February 10, 2017. November 19, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211119210718/https://www.kungahuset.se/royalcourt/royalfamily/latestnews/2016/2016/theroyalfamilyattendthenobelbanquet.5.47989bf9158b41184f99f8.html. dead.
  23. Web site: Read Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize in Literature Banquet Speech. December 10, 2016. Rolling Stone.
  24. Web site: American Immigrants from 37 Nationalities Honored on Ellis Island. May 5, 2017. Huffington Post.
  25. Web site: 2017 Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients. April 20, 2017. National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations. May 26, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170707234648/http://www.neco.org/medal-of-honor/2017-medalists. July 7, 2017. dead.
  26. Web site: Barnard Gala 2020.
  27. Web site: The President's Commission on White House Fellowships. The White House. September 9, 2015 .
  28. Web site: Check Out The 11 Lucky Wall Streeters Who Were Invited To The Obama Dinner. Business Insider. January 20, 2011 .
  29. Web site: Testimony of Azita Raji - Senate. November 7, 2020. en.
  30. Web site: McCrohan . Deirdre . 2022-03-16 . Azita Raji of Belvedere was first Iranian-born U.S. ambassador . 2022-03-17 . The Ark . en.
  31. Web site: A Role Model for All. Barnard.edu. April 29, 2024.
  32. Web site: In Memoriam (2022). December 2022 . State Magazine.gov. April 29, 2024.

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