| Said Tayeb Jawad | |
|---|---|
| 19th Afghanistan Ambassador to United States of America | |
| In office December 4, 2003 – September 22, 2010 |
|
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Preceded by | Isaq Sharhyar |
| Succeeded by | Eklil Ahmad Hakimi |
| Afghanistan Chief of Staff | |
| In office 2002–2003 |
|
| President | Hamid Karzai |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Omar Daudzai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1958 Kandahar, Afghanistan |
| Spouse(s) | Shamim Jawad |
| Children | Iman Jawad |
| Profession | Academic and Diplomat |
| Religion | Muslim |
Said Tayeb Jawad was appointed Afghan Ambassador to the U.S. on December 4, 2003, by President Hamid Karzai and served as Ambassador until September 22, 2010. He also served as Afghanistan’s non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. He previously was Chief of Staff to the Afghan President in 2002 and 2003. In October 2010, he joined Harvard University's Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the John F. Kennedy School of Government as the inaugural Fisher Family Fellow.[1] In February 2011, he became Diplomat-in-Residence at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.[2] He also currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Capitalize LLC[3], a Washington-based strategic consulting company and the Chairman of the Foundation for Afghanistan.[4]. He is also a Global Political Strategist at APCO Worldwide.[5].
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Said Tayeb Jawad was born in Kandahar. He was educated at Lycée Esteqlal and at the School of Law and Political Sciences in Kabul University. In 1980, shortly after the Soviet invasion, he left Afghanistan and went into exile in Germany, where he studied law at Westfaelische Wilhelms University in Münster.[6][7]
In 1986 he settled in the United States, where he earned his MBA from the Golden Gate University in San Francisco and worked for a number of prominent law firms, among other as legal consultant at a San Francisco Embarcadero law firm.[6]
He is fluent in Pashto, Dari Persian, English, German and French languages. He is married to Shamim Jawad, Founder and President of the Ayenda Foundation, a charitable organization that works on projects for women and children in Afghanistan. They have a son, Iman, who is a student at Tufts University,[8] class of 2012, where he was enrolled in the EPIIC '09–'10 program. He is also a member of the Afghan Student Initiative at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Jawad had been a dual national, but had to give up his U.S. citizenship to accept his posting as Afghan Ambassador to the U.S.
Jawad went back to Afghanistan in March 2002. He worked for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office and became his press secretary. By June, in addition to trying to coordinate the loya jirga, or grand council, for thousands of delegates and journalists, Jawad had become Karzai's Chief of Staff.[9]
Until late 2003 he served as the President’s Press Secretary, Chief of Staff as well as the Director of the Office of International Relations at the Presidential Palace. Jawad has worked closely with President Karzai in formulating strategies, implementing policies, building national institutions and prioritizing reforms in Afghanistan. He also worked with the U.S. and Afghanistan's military experts to help reform the Ministry of Defense, disarm local warlords and rebuild the Afghan National Army. Jawad was instrumental in drafting Afghanistan’s foreign investment laws; he served as President Karzai’s principal liaison with the constitutional commission throughout the drafting of the Constitution of Afghanistan. As Chief of Staff he accompanied the President and managed all foreign trips and state visits. He observed cabinet meetings and participated in the National Security Council meetings.[10]
In October 2003 he was appointed Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States.[11]
On December 4, 2003, Jawad assumed his official duties as Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, making him Afghanistan's 19th top representative to the U.S. since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1934.[12]
As part of his role as Afghanistan's envoy to the U.S., Jawad has worked closely with two presidential administrations on U.S. strategy towards Afghanistan; developed close links to members of the U.S. Congress; hosted numerous visits of high-level ministers and President Karzai; appeared in newspaper, magazine, radio and television interviews; spoken before audiences at universities, think tanks, charitable organizations and community groups; and received awards and commendations for his work for Afghanistan.
Jawad has appeared numerous times in major American and international papers and television shows. He also regularly lectures and speaks at prominent universities and think tanks. According to the Washington Times Jawad has maintained a high profile for Afghanistan, even as most public attention since 2003 has been focused on the Iraq War.[13]
In late 2009 there were rumours that Jawad would be appointed foreign minister of Afghanistan[14][15] but Karzai appointed Zalmai Rasul instead.
Jawad has participated in hundreds of conferences and forums related to Afghanistan and the region. Jawad is an avid polo player and a member of the Capitol Polo Club in Maryland. He played in the Green Cup and is a member of the United States Polo Association.
Jawad has participated in many significant conferences and forums related to Afghanistan and the region in the past decade.[16]
Having lived in Europe and the USA for more than 25 years, Jawad is familiar with western views on society and politics. He has been supportive of the American War on Terror[17][18] and of involvement of women in Afghan politics. Jawad has said that the biggest concern that Afghans have about the international presence is that it might be short-lived.[19]
Jawad has been loyal to President Karzai. He publicly defended Karzai against allegations of corruption and said that he is the most hard-working president Afghanistan has ever had.[20] Nevertheless, in October 2009 he was the first Karzai aide to suggest that a run-off between Karzai and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah was very likely after allegations of election fraud.[21] He said that a power sharing agreement between Karzai and Abdullah would be a good political solution but said he doubted that it would bring more skillful people to the government and that a coalition government meant sacrificing merits.[22][23]
Jawad and his wife have worked several times with former first lady Laura Bush in promoting awareness of rights for Afghan woman and children.[24][25] However Jawad criticized the Bush administration sometimes on using so much aerial bombing, resulting in civilian casualties, Jawad has expressed his gratitude to the US and foreign military powers in Afghanistan on a large number of occasions. Towards President Obama, who was less supportive of Afghan President Karzai, Jawad was more critical: "When the new administration came in there were a lot of changes and sometimes there was an oversimplification of the issues. Now the Obama administration is realizing you cannot just get rid of a democratically elected president of a country because you don't really like him." he said to United Press International.[22] Further Jawad has voiced opposition to President Obama's plan to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan starting summer 2011.[26] Jawad stressed the importance of continued international presence to avoid a situation as in the early 90s.
Jawad has stressed that too much of the international aid and military effort had bypassed the Afghan government which makes it impossible to build competent government and security.[27] Jawad also has said that eradication of poppies is not the best solution to the Afghan narcotics problem.[28] In May 2005 Jawad signed a memorandum of understanding for the city of light, a large reconstruction plan for the center of Kabul.
Jawad has criticized Pakistan for not doing enough to stop the Taliban insurgency.[29] Although he recognizes that new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari seems much more committed to battling terrorism than his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf. But, according to Jawad, Pakistan's army still appears to be more preoccupied with the country's traditional nemesis, India.[30]
Awards and honorary degrees granted to Jawad include the Constitutional Loya Jirga Service, Medal, Government of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, 2003; Global Citizen Award, Roots of Peace, Washington, D.C., 2008; Honorary Doctorate Degree in Organization Leadership, Argosy University, Washington, D.C. 2007; and the Award of Merit for Rebuilding a Nation, American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C, 2007.
Ambassador Jawad has participated in many significant conferences and forums related to Afghanistan and the region in the past decade. Some of these include:
The Halifax International Security Forum, The German Marshal Fund of the United States, Halifax, Nova Scotia, November 18-20, 2011
The Euromines Investor's Forum: Brussels, Belgium, October 25-28, 2011
The Fuqua School of Business & Coach K Leadership Summit: Duke University, NC, October 24, 2011
The Buxton Initiative Forum: Winston-Salem, NC, October 24, 2011
Addressing the Accountability Gap in Statebuilding: The Case of Afghanistan. Stanford University, Stanford, CA, February 25–26, 2011
The Halifax International Security Forum, The German Marshal Fund of the United States, Halifax, Nova Scotia, November 5–7, 2010
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, September 24–25, 2009
Leading Thinkers Forum, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Freeport, Bahamas, June 11–12, 2009
Emerald Express, National Defense University, Quantico Base, Sentry, Virginia, April 8, 2009
New Strategy for Afghanistan, Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, The Hague, Netherlands, March 30, 2009
A Comprehensive Strategy in a Regional Context, The Government of the Netherlands, The Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2009
UN General Assembly 63rd Session, United Nations, New York, NY, September 27, 2008
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, September 24–25, 2008
Security Council Debate on Afghanistan, United Nations, New York, NY, July 9, 2008
Atlantic Alliance at a New Crossroads, German Marshall Fund and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey, June 15–17, 2008
U.S. Islamic World Forum, The State of Qatar, Doha, February 16–18, 2008
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, September 24–25, 2007
UN General Assembly 62nd Session, United Nations, New York, NY September 22, 2007
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, September 24–25, 2006
UN General Assembly 61st Session, United Nations, New York, NY September 22, 2006
XIV Non-Allied Movement Summit, Havana, Cuba, September 15–16, 2006
London Conference on Afghanistan, London, Great Britain, January 31 – February 1, 2006
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, September 24–25, 2005
UN General Assembly 60th Session, United Nations, New York, NY, September 22, 2005
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, October 23, 2004
UN General Assembly 59th Session, United Nations, New York, NY, September 22, 2004
17th Nato Summit, Istanbul, Turkey, July 28–29, 2004
World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, January 21–25, 2004
The CransMontana Forum, The Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama, Bahrain, December 3–5, 2003
The Labour Party Annual Conference, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, September 28 – October 2, 2003
International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, Washington, DC, October 23, 2003
UN General Assembly 58th Session, United Nations, New York, NY, September 22, 2003
Fighting Terrorism for Humanity, International Peace Academy, New York, NY, September 22, 2003
World Economic Forum, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, June 21–23, 2003
Rebuilding A Nation Conference, US Trade and Development Agency, Chicago, Illinois, June 8–10, 2003
The Tokyo Conference on Consolidation of Peace in Afghanistan, The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo, Japan, February 22, 2003
XIII Non-Aligned Movement Summit, The Government of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 20–25, 2003
Afghanistan Support Group Annual Meeting, The Government of Norway, Oslo, Norway, December 17–18, 2002
Summit of States of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, The Government of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, October 26, 2002
Seventh ECO Heads of State Summit Meeting, The Government of Turkey, Istanbul, Turkey, October 14, 2002
UN Friends of Afghanistan Conference, United Nations, New York, NY, September 15, 2002
Constitutional Loya Jirga, The Government of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, June 10–16, 2002
Emergency Loya Jirga, The Government of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, June 10, 2002
UNCTAD Legal Affairs Afghanistan Forum, Geneva, Switzerland, February 21, 2002
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Isaq Sharhyar |
Ambassador of Afghanistan to U.S.A 2003–2010 |
Succeeded by Eklil Ahmad Hakimi |
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