Zalmai Aziz (born 1940 in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

) is an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and is the current ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva and to

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 ...

. He is the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed ...

to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan.

Education and early career

Zalmai Aziz was born on 22 June 1939, in

. He studied International Relations at the University of Kabul and graduated with honours.Embassy of Afghan in Switzerland: About the mission
/ref> Aziz joined the Afghan Foreign Ministry in 1966 and since then worked at various departments. He was the

second secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

at the Afghan embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in the 1970s and worked at the Afghan mission of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the 80s.Afghanistan.ru: Zalmai Aziz ends his mission in Russia
/ref>

Career in Post-Taliban Afghanistan

After the fall of the Taliban Regime in 2011, Aziz returned to Afghanistan at the request of the Afghan Government and rejoined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He initially served as the director of the

Department and soon after was appointed Deputy

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

for Political Affairs.Afghan Bios: Zalmai Aziz
/ref> He held this position until the middle of 2006. As an Afghan diplomat he has participated in many bilateral and multilateral negotiations and has led Afghanistan's delegations to a number of international conferences and meetings. In October 2006 Aziz was summoned by the foreign relations committee of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

to explain accusations of corruption in various Afghan embassies. Aziz confirmed administrative corruption existed in Afghan embassies in some foreign countries and said the ministry had sent investigative teams to the Afghan embassies in Brussels, Bulgaria, Paris and some other countries.Pak Tribune: Afghan embassies to be purged of corrupt officials
/ref> When Aziz retired in November 2006 Afghan Foreign Minister

Rangin Dadfar Spanta Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta (born December 15, 1954) is a politician in Afghanistan who last served as National Security Advisor of President Hamid Karzai. Prior to that he served as Foreign Minister from April 2006 to January 2010. He was appointe ...

said: "Today is indeed a sad day for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as one of our outstanding and experienced diplomats is leaving us for good; we appreciate all his invaluable hard work and contribution to this Ministry and we all wish him well."Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Farewell Party for Deputy Minister Zalmai Aziz
/ref> However, in the middle of 2007 Aziz joined the Afghan Foreign Service again. He was appointed

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of Afghanistan to the

and also concurrently serving as non- resident Ambassador to the

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, Georgia, the Republic of Belarus and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. In 2008 he said the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan was not the matter of one day, one month or one year, but this ominous phenomenon will take years to be eradicated.Pajhwok Afghan News (Kabul, Afghanistan) Terror fight to take several years: Zalmay Aziz
/ref> On 25 May 2010 he ended his mission in Russia and was appointed Permanent Representative to the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, french: Office des Nations Unies à Genève) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG ...

and Ambassador to

. On 13 September 2010, he presented his credential to H.E.

Sergei Ordzhonikidze Sergei Alexandrovich Ordzhonikidze (russian: Серге́й Александрович Орджоникидзе; born 14 March 1946 in Moscow) is a Russian diplomat. He was the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2002 t ...

, the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the

and on 18 January 2011 to the President of Switzerland. He is a member of the Council of Foundation of the

Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD; french: Centre international de déminage humanitaire - CIDHG) is an international organisation working in mine action and explosive ordnance risk reduction, with a focus on land ...

.Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining: Council of Foundation
/ref>

External links

Video of Zalmai Aziz's address to the UN Human Rights Council on the situation of the Human Rights in Libya

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aziz, Zalmai 1940 births Living people Afghan diplomats Ambassadors of Afghanistan to Russia Ambassadors of Afghanistan to Switzerland Kabul University alumni People from Kabul