| Aneesh Raman | |
|---|---|
| Education | Harvard College |
| Occupation | Speechwriter |
Aneesh Raman currently works at the Department of Defense.
Raman was previously Speechwriter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.[1] Before joining the government, Raman was an award-winning CNN reporter and the network's first ever correspondent based in the Middle East responsible for region-wide coverage.[2]
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Raman became Speechwriter to the Treasury Secretary in early 2009, as the Obama Administration was confronting the immediate aftermath of the historic 2008 financial crisis and ensuing recession. Raman had worked earlier on the presidential campaign of Barack Obama as part of the communications team set up for vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.
As CNN's Middle East correspondent, Raman was based in Egypt but was largely responsible for coverage out of Iran. Over the course of a dozen trips, Raman reported extensively on Iran's nuclear ambitions and the growing frustration of the people towards their government.
From 2005 to 2006, Raman was CNN's Baghdad Correspondent, living in Iraq during an exceptionally volatile period in the Iraq War. In addition to embedding with US forces across the country, Raman provided some of the most comprehensive reporting on Iraq's National Assembly and the efforts to ratify a new constitution. Raman also provided in-depth coverage of the Saddam Hussein trial and was notably the first American television journalist to announce Saddam Hussein's execution.[3][4]
Raman's initial international posting was in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was the first Western reporter to go live from Phuket, Thailand after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Raman spent weeks covering the aftermath of the ensuing tsunami and was part of the CNN team that won a 2005 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award.
While at CNN, Raman reported from a number of countries including Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, England, Spain, Nicaragua, India, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia. In July 2007, Raman gave a speech at the Clinton School of Public Service about his experiences as a foreign correspondent and the changes taking place in cable news.[5] Raman first appeared on CNN in 2004, when he profiled the younger generation and their involvement in the American 2004 presidential election. In June 2008, Raman left CNN and later joined the U.S. presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama.[6]
Raman graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude and was a Fulbright Scholar. While at Harvard, he was awarded a local Emmy Award as Host of Kids Talk Sports, a weekly sports talk show that aired on New England Cable News.[7] Raman grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts and went to Wellesley High School.[8]