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Uzra Zeya

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Uzra Zeya
3rd Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 14, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded bySarah Sewall
Personal details
BornChapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationGeorgetown University (BS)

Uzra Zeya is an American diplomat who has served as the under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights in the Biden administration since July 2021.[1]

Early life and education

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Zeya was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to immigrants from Bihar, India.[2][3][4] Zeya's sister, Rena Golden (née Rena Shaheen Zeya), died in 2013 due to lymphoma. Zeya graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.[5]

Career

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In 1989 and 1990, Zeya worked at the Washington Report for Middle East Affairs (WRMEA). The outlet has been described as staunchly anti-Israel and published articles questioning the loyalty of American Jews and opposing taxpayer funding to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. At the WRMEA, Zeya compiled research for a book arguing that "the Israel lobby has subverted the American political process to take control of U.S. Middle East policy" through a secret network of "dirty money".[6]

Zeya with Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in 2016

Uzra Zeya worked as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service for 27 years. During the Obama administration, Zeya served as the acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. She also worked in the Embassy of the United States, Paris, from 2014 to 2017.[7] In 2013, Zeya was suspected to have been involved in the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade.[8][9] Zeya was accused of helping evacuate the domestic help's kin out of India,[clarification needed] just two days prior to Khobragade's arrest.[10]

In 2018, Zeya wrote in Politico wrote that she left the State Department after not being promoted because she did not pass the Trump administration's "Breitbart test" due to her race and gender.[11]

From 2019 through 2021, Zeya served as the president and CEO of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a network of organizations working to end violent conflict worldwide.[12] Zeya also worked for the Albright Stonebridge Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm co-founded by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.[13]

Biden administration

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Zeya with UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie in 2022

President Joe Biden nominated Zeya to be Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights in March 2021. Her nomination received criticism due to her previous employment at the Washington Report for Middle East Affairs.[6]

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on her nomination on April 15, 2021. The committee favorably reported the nomination to the U.S. Senate on April 21, 2021. Zeya was confirmed on July 13, 2021, by a vote of 73–24,[14] and assumed office on July 14.[15]

On December 20, 2021, Zeya was designated by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to serve concurrently as the United States special coordinator for Tibetan issues.[16] Zeya met with Tibetan exile leader Penpa Tsering in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2022, in the first of a series of meetings to promote freedoms in Tibet.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Biden nominates Indian-American Uzra Zeya to key State Department position". Hindustan Times. January 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Uzra Zeya". ISD. March 15, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  3. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (July 29, 2014). "'Desi' diplomats don't have it easy". The Hindu.
  4. ^ Chidan, Rajghatta (September 25, 2018). "Indian-American diplomat Uzra Zeya quits state department, calling out racist and gender bias in Trump administration - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Uzra Zeya". ISD. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "State Department nominee contributed to book claiming 'Israel lobby' controls politics". Jewish News Syndicate. March 4, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "Alumni Profile: Uzra Zeya". Master of Science in Foreign Service. Georgetown University. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Krishnankutty, Pia (January 19, 2021). "Biden's pick Uzra Zeya had 'helped' Indian diplomat Khobragade's maid during 2013 row". ThePrint. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Joe Biden keeps Dems with RSS-BJP links out". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  10. ^ "US official 'assisted' in maid's kin evacuation". Deccan Chronicle. December 22, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Zeya, Uzra (September 17, 2018). "Trump Is Making American Diplomacy White Again". Politico Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "The Alliance for Peacebuilding's Board of Directors Endorses Uzra Zeya for Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights in the U.S. Department of State". Alliance for Peacebuilding. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Meyer, Theodoric (March 23, 2021). "The Blob abides". Politico. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  14. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Uzra Zeya, of Virginia, to be an Under Secretary of State (Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights))". US Senate. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  15. ^ "Uzra Zeya". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  16. ^ "Designation of Under Secretary Uzra Zeya as the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues". United States Department of State. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  17. ^ "Tibetan exile leader arrives in Washington for talks". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
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