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by | Dec 19, 2023 | Indian Pink

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Sahar Nowrouzzadeh is an American civil servant. She worked for the U.S. Department of State since 2005, particularly on issues relating to Iran–United States relations, including negotiation and implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Early life

Nowrouzzadeh was born in 1982 in Trumbull, Connecticut, to parents who had immigrated from Iran. At the time of her birth, her father was conducting a medical residency at Bridgeport Hospital to become an OB-GYN. As a child, she was not very interested in politics. However, following the September 11 attacks, her interest in Middle Eastern affairs grew. She studied at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, followed by the University of Maryland-College Park. She became fluent in Persian and Arabic, as well as Spanish.[2][3]

Career

Nowrouzzadeh began her career as a civil servant at the State Department in 2005. She was Director for Iran at the National Security Council from 2014 to 2016.[3] She was considered instrumental in the negotiation and implementation of the Iran Nuclear Deal.[4] She is the recipient the State Department Superior Honor Award, a National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation and the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terrorism.[3]

Nowrouzzadeh gained national media attention in 2017 when she was demoted during the administration of President Donald Trump. In 2019, a State Department Inspector General investigation confirmed that Nowrouzzadeh's demotion was due to her perceived personal political views and heritage.[5][6] Nowrouzzadeh had previously been the subject of an article in the Conservative Review, a right-wing website that falsely claimed she was born in Iran, and made other false and disparaging comments about her. The article was passed around the State Department. Nowrouzzadeh reported the issue to her supervisor, Brian Hook, but he failed to adequately respond and was found to be among the Trump administration officials who decided to abruptly reassign her.[7][8][9]

While on sabbatical from the State Department, Nowrouzzadeh was a research fellow on Iran at the Harvard Kennedy School from 2017 to 2023.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Sahar Nowrouzzadeh". U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran. 1 January 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Eng, Donald (January 26, 2017). "From Trumbull to the White House". Trumbull Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sahar-Nowrouzzadeh". Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. 3 September 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Toosi, Nahal (April 21, 2017). "State Dept. official reassigned amid conservative media attacks". POLITICO. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ^ Allyn, Bobby (November 14, 2019). "Watchdog Report: Trump Official Punished Public Servant Over Her Iranian Heritage". NPR.org. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "US State Department faults envoy for removing employee of Iranian heritage". Times of Israel. November 15, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Jakes, Lara (November 14, 2019). "State Dept. Career Employee Was Targeted as 'Loyalist' to Democrats, Inquiry Shows (Published 2019)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Finnegan, Connor; Siegel, Benjamin (March 15, 2018). "House Democrats say administration is pushing out State Dept. staffers not loyal to Trump". ABC News. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  9. ^ Toosi, Nahal (November 13, 2019). "Trump aides retaliated against State staffer of Iranian descent, probe finds (Published 2019)". Politico. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
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