Omar Samad

Omar Samad is Senior Central Asia Fellow at New America Foundation in Washington D.C. He is also President of Silkroad Consulting LLC.

He was Afghanistan Senior Expert in residence at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. from January 2012 till January 2013.^[1]

He served as Afghanistan's Ambassador to France from June 2009 to July 2011. Prior, he served as Ambassador to Canada from October 2004 to June 2009. He was accredited as the first Afghan non-resident Ambassador to the Chile (2008) and Principality of Monaco (2010). During his diplomatic career (2001 to 2011), he was a member of Afghan delegations to the UN, NAM, Islamic Conferences and specialized conferences on Afghanistan, including the Tokyo (2002) and Berlin (2004) reconstruction conferences. He represented the Foreign Ministry on the Tripartite Security Commission with Afghanistan-US-Pakistan.

He was the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs^[2] in Kabul from December 2001 to September 2004 and Director General of the Information and Media Division, during which he also served as an advisor, speech-writer and member of the Ministry's reform committee.

Samad earned a Master's degree in International Relations (GMAP) from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University, Massachusetts) in 2006. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and International Affairs at the American University in Washington D.C. in 1991. He also worked in the IT private sector field in the US between 1981 and 2001 with corporations such as Datacrown Inc, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he advocated for freedom and democracy in Afghanistan. In 1996, he launched Azadi Afghan Radio and its website as part of the Afghanistan Information Center, based in Virginia. Following the September 11th attacks, he worked as a commentator and analyst for CNN during the Bonn Accords on Afghanistan, and continues to be a contributor for major international media in English, French and Dari.

He has written numerous articles/commentaries on Afghan issues and spoken at conferences and seminars around the world. His articles appear in Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, TOLOnews, CNN.com and other publications.

Omar Samad is married to Khorshied and they have two children.

References

v t e   Afghan Diplomats and Ambassadors Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Abdullah (2001–2006) Rangin Dadfar Spanta (2006–2010) Zalmai Rassoul (2010–present) Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abdorrahim Sherizai Zalmai Aziz (2003–2007) Mohammad Kabir Farahi (2007–2010) Eklil Ahmad Hakimi (2010–2011) Deputy Foreign Minister for Administration Affairs Abdul H. Haider (2010–present) Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Mahmoud Saikal (2005–2006) Chief of Staff to the President Said Tayeb Jawad (2002–2003) Mohammad Omar Daudzai (2003–2005) Jawed Ludin (2005–2007) Omar Daudzai (2007–present) Chairman National Security Council Zalmai Rasool (2002–2009) Rangin Dadfar Spanta (2010–present) Director of United Nations Affairs and International Conferences Zalmai Aziz (2002–2003) Mohammad Anwar Anwarzai (2008–present) Spokesmen of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Omar Samad (2001–2006) Ahmad Zaher Faqiri (2010–present) Permanent Representative to the UN (New York) Ravan Farhâdi (1993–2006) Zahir Tanin (2006–present) Permanent Representative to the UN (Geneva) Akbar Kherad Mohammad Nabi Amani Sher Ahmad Nasri Homayon Tandar Shamsuzzakir Kazemi Assad Omar Nangyalai Tarzi (2007–2010) Zalmai Aziz (2010–present) Ambassador to the United States Ishaq Shahryar (2002–2003) Said Tayeb Jawad (2003–2010) Eklil Ahmad Hakimi (2011–present) Chargé d'affaires to the United Kingdom Hameed Haami Ambassador to Pakistan Nangyalai Tarzi (2002–2006) Mohammad Anwar Anwarzai (2006–2007) Abdul Khaliq Farahi Majnoon Gulab (Chargé d'affaires) (2009–present) Ambassador to Iran Omar Daudzai (2005–2007) Yahya Maroofi (2007–2009) Obaidullah Obaid (2010–present) Ambassador to India Massoud Khalili (2001–2006) Sayed Makhdoom Raheen (−2010) Nangyalai Tarzi (2010–present) Ambassador to Russia Ahmad Zia Massoud (2001–2004) Zalmai Aziz (2007–2010) Azizullah Karzai (2010–present) Ambassador to Canada Omar Samad (2004–2009) Jawed Ludin (2009–present) Ambassador to Australia Mahmoud Saikal (2002–2005) Mohammad Anwar Anwarzai (2005–2007) Amanullah Jayhoon (2007–present) Ambassador to Turkey Massoud Khalili (2007–2010) Salahuddin Rabbani (2011–present) Ambassador to Spain Gul Ahmad Sherzada Massoud Khalili (2010–present) Ambassador to Japan Mohammad Noor Akbary (Chargé d'affaires) (2002–2004) Haron Amin (2004–2009) Eklil Ahmad Hakimi (2009–2010) Amin Fatemy Ambassador to France Omar Samad (2009–2011) Ambassador to Norway Yahya Maroofi (2005–2007) Jawed Ludin (2007–2009) Manija Bakhtary (2009–present)