Samira Asghari (born 31 March 1994) is a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

for Afghanistan since 2018. Upon her election at the age of 24, Asghari became the first representative from Afghanistan and one of the youngest ever members to join the IOC. Before being selected for the IOC, Asghari played for the

Afghanistan women's national basketball team Afghanistan women's national basketball team was formed by US troops after the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The Afghanistan women's national basketball team was run by the Afghan Olympic Committee. The te ...

and worked for the

Afghanistan National Olympic Committee National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, former Afghanistan National Olympic Committee ( fa, کمیته ملی المپیک افغانستان, IOC code: AFG) is the National Olympic Committee representing Islamic Repub ...

during the 2010s. With the ANOC, Asghari briefly held the finance director and Deputy Secretary General positions in the early to mid 2010s.

Early life and education

On 31 March 1994, Asghari was born in the

Jalrez District Jalrez (Pashto/ prs, جلرېز) is a district in the west of Maidan Shar, Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. The main town lies at Jalrez, which is southwest of the centre of Kabul via the main Kabul-Behsud Highway. The district is a major ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Shortly after her birth, Asghari and her family became war refugees and moved to Iran. Growing up, Asghari played association football and basketball while attending school. For her post-secondary education, Asghari went to

Kateb University Kateb University is a private university established in 2007, located in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan. Faculties The Kateb University having the following faculties: * Faculty of Law * Faculty of Engineering * Faculty of Political science, Poli ...

for 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 ...

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

Career

During the 2010s, Asghari joined the

and was named captain of the Afghan basketball team. Outside of basketball, Asghari worked for an Afghan agency in women's sports before starting her Olympic career with the

. With the NOC, Asghari first held positions in women's sports and international relations. As an executive for the NOC, Asghari held one year positions as finance director and Deputy Secretary General during the early to mid 2010s. During this time period, Asghari joined committees for the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarter ...

and

in 2014. In 2018, Asghari became the first elected member of the

from Afghanistan. Her election made Asghari one of the youngest ever members of the IOC when she joined at age 24. As part of the committee, Asghari was selected to join a commission for future winter Olympics in 2019.

Awards and honors

In 2019, the Afghanistan Sports Journalists Federation presented Asghari with the Sports Personality of the Year award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asghari, Samira 1994 births Afghan basketball players International Olympic Committee members Living people Jalrez District