Azita Raji ( fa, آزیتا راجی, September 29, 1961 – February 6, 2022) was an Iranian-born American diplomat, banker, and philanthropist. She was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in October 2014 to serve as the United States ambassador to the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in February 2016. She presented her credentials to

King Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Du ...

on March 15, 2016, and completed her tour of duty on January 20, 2017. Ambassador Raji was nominated for the State Department's highest award for a non-career ambassador, the Sue M. Cobb Prize for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. She was the first female United States ambassador to Sweden, as well as the first Iranian-born American to serve as an ambassador of the United States.

Early life

Born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Raji completed her high school education in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where she competed nationally as a downhill skier and chess player, before moving to the United States at the age of 17. She earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1983 in architecture and French from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, followed by a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 1991 in Finance from

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

. Raji became a U.S. citizen in 1988.

Career

Financial and philanthropic

Raji was a

Chartered Financial Analyst The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and fina ...

(C.F.A.) and was a member of the Institute for Chartered Financial Analysts since 1991. She was a member of the

Bretton Woods Committee The Bretton Woods Committee is an American organization created in 1983 as a result of the agreement between U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Fowler, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Charls Walker – at the time a Democrat and a R ...

, an elite organization which supports international finance institutions such as the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

. Earlier in her career as an international investment banker, she held senior positions at firms including J.P. Morgan & Co.,

Salomon Brothers Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five largest investment banking enterprises in the United States and the most profitable firm on Wall Street duri ...

and

Drexel Burnham Lambert Drexel Burnham Lambert was an American multinational investment bank that was forced into bankruptcy in 1990 due to its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by senior executive Michael Milken. At its height, it was a ...

. Raji's past philanthropic activities have included numerous active leadership roles in the nonprofit sector: Trustee and member of the Executive Committee, Barnard College, Columbia University; Advisory Board, Columbia Business School Tamer Center for Social Enterprise; Founding Co-Chair, Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University; Economic Advisory Council,

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...

; Director,

National Partnership for Women & Families The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the National Partnership works on public policies, education and outreach that focuses on women and familie ...

Political

2016 Nobel Reception US Embassy Sweden (31222132190)

By 2008, Raji had left the financial sector to focus on national politics. In 2012, she served as National Finance Vice-Chair and Chair of Swing State Victory Fund for the Obama campaign. Raji was a national advisory board member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

and a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee from 2008 to 2012. In 2013, President Obama appointed Raji to serve as a Commissioner on The President's Commission on

White House Fellows The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Cor ...

. In addition, Raji was appointed a Commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. On July 4, 2016, Raji was recognized as an honoree of

Great Immigrants The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

: The Pride of America, the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

's annual recognition of inspiring naturalized U.S. citizens who have made notable contributions to the progress of American society. On December 10, 2016, as the United States Ambassador to Sweden, Raji read

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's letter to the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize. Four of these committees (for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiolog ...

on his behalf during the Nobel banquet in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, in recognition of Dylan being awarded the 2016

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

. Raji was an honoree of the 2017

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born ...

and the Recipient of Barnard College's Joan Rivers Trailblazer Award 2020.

Personal life

Raji lived and worked in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East and was fluent in several languages, including

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and French. She was married to Gary Syman, a former partner of

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

. They have five daughters and seven grandchildren. Raji died on February 6, 2022, after a short illness at the age of 60.

Published articles

Sense and Indispensability: American Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty
- The Texas National Security Review, December 16, 2019
The Partnership for Peace: A Quiet NATO Success Story
- War on the Rocks, 4/8/19
The Perils of Playing Footsie in Military Boots: Trident Juncture and Nato’s Nordic Front
- War On The Rocks, 8/20/18
Trump’s Tariffs and the Future of Transatlantic Ties
- War on the Rocks, 6/5/18
If the Transatlantic Relationship Sneezes, Will NATO Catch A Cold?
- War on the Rocks, 5/21/18
Salvaging Trump’s Legacy in Europe: Fixing NATO Burden-Sharing
- War on the Rocks, 2/26/18
Russia’s Cold War With Scandinavia
- The Wall Street Journal, 8/28/17
Trump Should Urge Europe to Resist Putin’s Pipeline Politics
- Foreign Policy, 7/7/17
Trump Is Overlooking an Obvious U.S. Partner
- Foreign Policy, 5/15/17
Trump Immigration Ban: Former U.S. Ambassador's Open Letter to Nikki Haley
- Newsweek, 1/31/17
Inclusion, Freedom, and Democracy Are Non-Negotiable Values
- DN Debatt, January 21, 2017
Upholding American Values Is My Job for Life
- Newsweek, 1/20/17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raji, Azita 1961 births 2022 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Sweden American financial analysts American investment bankers American philanthropists American women ambassadors Barnard College alumni Businesspeople from Tehran Columbia Business School alumni Drexel Burnham Lambert Iranian emigrants to the United States JPMorgan Chase employees Obama administration personnel People from Belvedere, California Women financial analysts American women philanthropists American politicians of Iranian descent Iranian expatriates in Switzerland CFA charterholders Naturalized citizens of the United States 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American women