Washington: Indian-American Farah Pandith, the first-ever US special representative to Muslim communities, is leaving her position at the State Department to join the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.
Appointed to the position in June 2009 by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pandith "always places people above politics, and she has performed groundbreaking work," said Secretary of State John Kerry in a statement Thursday.
Originally from Srinagar, Pandith will be joining the Institute of Politics as a resident fellow for the spring semester. She will lead weekly study groups on a range of topics.
Pandith has a master's degree from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, and an AB from Smith College Pandith's deputy, Adnan Kifayat, will serve as the acting special representative until a permanent replacement is named.
Describing Pandith as a "trailblazer and a visionary," Kerry said "Farah's legacy is an extraordinary record of thoughtfulness, balance, and sheer guts and determination."
"For Farah, this isn't just a career. It's her life's passion," he said.
"It's in her DNA as a first-generation immigrant who achieved historic firsts for America, from changing the way our Embassies engage with Muslim communities in Europe to getting a Quran placed in the White House Library."
She travelled to more than 80 countries and launched critically important youth programmes, including Generation Change, Viral Peace, and the Hours Against Hate campaign, Kerry noted Pandith's career in public service has taken her from Chief of Staff of the Bureau for Asia and the Near East at USAID to Director for Middle East Regional Initiatives at the National Security Council to Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
Police did nothing to nab people involved in rape, arson in Muzaffarnagar80 percent of the people named in over 600 FIRs lodged have not been arrested, Supreme Court told
Gonsalves, who appeared for NGO ANHAD, told the court that the state government's.... More
Also Read: Bury us here but don't ask us to go back, plead Muzaffarnagar riot victims
London based lawyers accuse Assad regime of mass killings in SyriaA report authored by a group of London-based lawyers has accused the Bashar al-Assad regime of "systemic killing" of about 11,000 Syrians, a leading British.... More
Also Read: UN Chief withdraws invitation to Iran for Syria talks in Geneva
The first comment was the sharp reaction from BJP leader Arun Jaitely, who apparently was picked over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark that his government is nearing to some solution to the Kashmir problem, without divulging ..... More
Sayema Sahar's Molestation Saga is Missed in the Glamour World
The 24×7 channels which keep crying for morality, truth and women's rights find hard to see their own faces in the mirror when someone shows them their distorted faces. There are several cases of on and off duty female journalists and off screen women being sexually harassed, abused and even physically attacked by their bosses or co-workers but these cases rarely come into the limelight...... More
