Herro Mustafa Explained

Herro Mustafa
Native Name:هێرۆ مستەفا
Ambassador From:United States
Country:Egypt
President:Joe Biden
Term Start:November 15, 2023
Predecessor:A. Elizabeth Jones
Chargé d'Affaires
Office1:United States Ambassador to Bulgaria
President1:Donald Trump
Joe Biden
Term Start1:October 18, 2019
Term End1:March 1, 2023[1]
Predecessor1:Justin Friedman
Chargée d'affaires a.i.
Successor1:Kenneth H. Merten
Office2:Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Portugal
President2:Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Term Start2:July 2016
Term End2:September 26, 2019
Successor2:Kristin M. Kane
Office3:United States chargé d'affaires to Portugal
President3:Donald Trump
Term Start3:January 20, 2017
Term End3:August 25, 2017
Predecessor3:Robert A. Sherman (as ambassador)
Successor3:George Edward Glass (as ambassador)
Office4:Coalition Provisional Authority Coordinator for Nineveh
Term Start4:May 2003
Term End4:June 2004
Predecessor4:Misha'an al-Juburi
Successor4:Usama Yousif Kashmula
(Interim Governor)
Birth Place:Erbil, Iraq
Alma Mater:Georgetown University
Princeton University

Herro Kader Mustafa Garg[2] (Kurdish: Hêro Mistefa; born 1973) is a Kurdish-American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Egypt since November 2023. She served as the United States ambassador to Bulgaria from October 2019 to March 2023.

Early life and education

Mustafa was born in Erbil, in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, to a Kurdish family and spent two years of her childhood in a refugee camp.[3] Mustafa's family story was the subject of the documentary film American Herro. She is multilingual and speaks English, Kurdish, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish and Greek.[4]

Mustafa's family sought asylum in the United States in 1976. Her father was a Kurdish political activist and an opponent of the regime of Saddam Hussein. The family was taken in by Zion Lutheran Church at Minot, North Dakota, in 1976.

Mustafa graduated from Minot High School in 1991 and earned her undergraduate degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1995 where she studied national security and the Middle East. She also received a master's degree in international relations from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1997.[5] [6]

Career

After graduation, she directed a non-governmental organization for Kurdish studies in the U.S., traveled to Bosnia to supervise provincial elections and served as the Senior Editor for the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Mustafa joined the United States Foreign Service in 1999 and served in Athens (as a Political Officer for human rights and trafficking), Beirut (as a consular official), Washington, D.C. (as Iran desk officer at the National Security Council under Elliot Abrams), and special assistant to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns,[7] and Iraq (as Coalition Provisional Authority coordinator for Nineveh under L. Paul Bremer).[3] [8]

Mustafa was senior advisor on the Middle East to Vice President Joe Biden from March 2009[9] to 2011.

Mustafa once served as political minister counselor at the United States embassy in India, and has been Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Portugal from July 2016 to January 2017.[10]

She carries the rank of Minister Counselor.

United States ambassador to Portugal

Mustafa was United States chargée d'affaires in Portugal (i.e. acting ambassador) from the end of Robert A. Sherman's term as Ambassador on January 20, 2017[11] to August 25, 2017, when she was replaced by George Edward Glass also as ambassador.[12] She drew notice for being a Muslim former refugee serving the Donald Trump administration.[13]

United States ambassador to Bulgaria

In June 2019, President Donald Trump nominated Mustafa to be the United States ambassador to Bulgaria.[14] Her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 2019. She presented her credentials to President Rumen Radev on October 18, 2019.[15] She served until March 1, 2023.[1]

United States ambassador to Egypt

On March 29, 2023, President Joe Biden nominated her to serve as the U.S ambassador to Egypt.[16] On October 25, 2023, her nomination was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Her nomination was confirmed by voice vote on November 1, 2023.[17] She was sworn in on November 7, 2023.[18] She presented her credentials on November 15, 2023.[19]

Awards and recognition

Mustafa has been nominated for the Department of State Human Rights and Democracy Achievement award and has received the Superior Honor Award and Meritorious Honor Award for her work.[4]

In 2021, Mustafa was named by Carnegie Corporation of New York as an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award.[20] [21]

Personal life

She is married to Ravneesh Garg with whom she has had two daughters, Ariana and Ashna.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Biden to nominate Herro Mustafa Garg as US ambassador to Egypt: White House. www.aa.com.tr.
  2. Web site: A Kurdish-American in Mosul . . Summer 2008 . Middle East Research and Information Project . October 17, 2019.
  3. "Staples, David. "Refugee Finds Her Niche from the American Heartland to the Iraqi Homeland." State Magazine July/August 2004. United States Department of State, pp. 9–10.
  4. "4 Days Left to Register for the Foreign Service Written Exam ." United States Department of State, Office of the Spokesman. March 11, 2003.
  5. Web site: Graduate Alumni Records, 1990-2021 . Princeton University Archives . March 18, 2022.
  6. "North Dakota Filmmakers feature Condoleezza Rice in documentary project ." Communications Corps.
  7. Rosen, Steve. "Herro Mustafa appointed Biden's Mideast adviser." Obama Mideast Monitor, Middle East Forum. March 22, 2009.
  8. "Herro Mustafa MPA '97 of NSC keynote at WWS grad orientation." Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs 2005.
  9. Rozen, Laura. "More names: OVP, DoD." "The Cable" blog, Foreign Policy March 21, 2009.
  10. Web site: Deputy Chief of Mission Herro Mustafa . . U. S. Embassy and Consulate in Portugal . U. S. Department of State . October 13, 2017 . Herro Mustafa began her tour in Lisbon, Portugal as Deputy Chief of Mission in July, 2016. Previously, she was the Political Minister Counselor at Embassy New Delhi [i.e., the United States Embassy in India]..
  11. News: Cabrita-Mendes . André . January 6, 2017 . Embaixador dos EUA que apoiou a selecção parte com Portugal 'no coração' . USA ambassador who supported the national team leaves with Portugal 'on [his] heart' . Portuguese . Jornal de Negócios . Lisbon . October 13, 2017 . A embaixada norte-americana diz que a representação diplomática em Portugal vai ser feita pela ministra conselheira Herro Mustafa até que um novo Embaixador seja nomeado e chegue a Lisboa..
  12. Web site: Ambassador George E. Glass . . U. S. Embassy and Consulate in Portugal . U. S. Department of State . October 13, 2017 . George E. Glass of Oregon arrived in Lisbon on August 24, 2017 to serve as United States Ambassador to the Portuguese Republic. He presented his credentials to the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on August 25th, 2017..
  13. News: Rodrigues . Catarina Marques . Pina . Pedro . Piteira . Sara . April 12, 2017 . A representante de Trump em Portugal é muçulmana e ex-refugiada. 'Eu também sou a América' . Trump's representative in Portugal is a Muslim and a former refugee. 'I too am America' . Portuguese . . Lisbon . October 13, 2017.
  14. US ambassador-designate to Bulgaria named. (June 18, 2019). Retrieved June 18, 2019, from The Sofia Globe website: https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/06/18/us-ambassador-designate-to-bulgaria-named/
  15. Web site: Ambassador Mustafa Presents Her Credentials . October 18, 2019 . U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria . en-US . October 19, 2019. Web site: Ambassador Mustafa Presents Her Credentials . October 18, 2019 . U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria . en-US . October 19, 2019.
  16. Web site: President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Key Role for the Department of State. The White House. March 29, 2023.
  17. Web site: PN484 — Herro Mustafa Garg — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024) . US Congress . November 1, 2023.
  18. Web site: November 8, 2023 . Herro Mustafa Garg sworn in as new US ambassador to Egypt . November 17, 2023 . EgyptToday.
  19. 1725463268217487749 . USEmbassyCairo . The U.S. Embassy Cairo community extends a warm welcome to our new Ambassador, Herro Mustafa Garg, and her family as they arrive in Cairo. We look forward to her leadership in enhancing the partnership at a critical time. Marhaba, Madam Ambassador!.
  20. Web site: Herro Mustafa . June 11, 2024 . Carnegie Corporation of New York.
  21. Web site: 2021-06-30 . Carnegie Corporation of New York Honors 34 Great Immigrants for Their Contributions to Our Democracy - Congresswoman Young Kim . 2024-06-18 . en-US.
  22. Web site: Statement of Herro Mustafa Ambassador-Nominee to Bulgaria Senate Foreign Relations Committee. U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria. July 30, 2019.