Zafar Hashemi (Persian: ظفر هاشمی; born February 17, 1985) is Afghan-American who serves as special advisor on Afghanistan for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Previously, he worked as the political counselor at the embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. He was also the deputy (and for nine months acting) spokesperson of the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani until January 2017.[1]

Zafar Hashemi
Zafar Hashemi at the Presidential Palace, Arg
Deputy spokesperson of the Government of Afghanistan
In office
27 May 2015 – 31 January 2017
PresidentAshraf Ghani
Preceded byAimal Faizi
Personal details
Born (1985-02-17) February 17, 1985 (age 39)
Afghanistan
Nationality Afghanistan  United States
Political partyIndependent
Alma materUniversity of Maryland
Johns Hopkins University

Life and career

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An ethnic Tajik, Hashemi fled Afghanistan as a child to Pakistan during the Taliban regime. He later resided in the U.S. to study, achieving a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Maryland and a master's degree in public administration at Johns Hopkins University. Before immigrating to the United States in 2007, Hashemi managed communication and public affairs of Afghanistan Stabilization Program (ASP) under the Interior Ministry, and prior to that he was a journalist and a radio presenter for Nawa 103.1 FM in 2007, and later at AWAZ.[2] He later became a television presenter and journalist at Voice of America (VOA) in Washington DC.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Former Scripps Howard Intern Named Deputy Spokesman to Afghan President | ICFJ - International Center for Journalists". ICFJ.org. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  2. ^ "Database". Afghan-bios.info. 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  3. ^ Says, I. M. (2015-05-27). "Syed Zafar Hashemi appointed as deputy spokesman to President Ghani - Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency". The Khaama Press News Agency. Retrieved 2016-12-01.