Biden to nominate career diplomat Herro Mustafa Garg as US ambassador to Egypt: White House

Ahram Online , Thursday 30 Mar 2023

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he intends to nominate career diplomat Herro Mustafa Garg to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Egypt, according to the White House.

Herro Mustafa Garg
File Photo: US Ambassador-Nominee to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg. (Photo courtesy of the US Embassy in Bulgaria)

 

Currently, Daniel Rubinstein has been assuming the responsibility of Charge d’Affaires to Egypt since August 2022, succeeding US ambassador Jonathan Cohen, who had served two consecutive administrations – under Donald Trump and Biden since 2019.

The nominated ambassador, Garg, is an American diplomat of Kurdish descent and has a Bachelor’s from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Master’s from Princeton University.

She grew up in North Dakota and speaks Kurdish, Arabic, Farsi, Greek, Hindi, Bulgarian, and Portuguese.

Garg, who is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, served as the US Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria from October 2019 to March 2023. At the time, she was the first American of Kurdish descent to be nominated as ambassador.

Previously, the White House says, she was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal and Political Minister Counselor at the US Embassy in New Delhi, India.

Earlier, Garg worked in the Office of the Vice President on issues related to the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Her other Washington assignments include Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Office, Advisor on the Middle East in the Office of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Director for Iran, Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, and Jordan at the National Security Council, as well as National Security Council Director for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Garg has also served overseas as lead US Civilian Coordinator in Mosul, Iraq, Consular Officer in Beirut, Lebanon, and Political Officer in Athens, Greece. She is the recipient of the Matilda W. Sinclaire Award for superior achievement in a foreign language.

Her family story is the subject of the documentary film, American Herro, and in 2021 she was honored by the Carnegie Corporation as one of the Great Immigrants of America.

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