Said Jawad
Former Fellow, The Future of Diplomacy Project
Experience
His Excellency Said T. Jawad served as Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the United States since December 4, 2003 until October, 2010. Under his leadership, the Embassy of Afghanistan emerged as one of the most successful missions in Washington, D.C. He also served as Afghanistan’s non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.
Ambassador Jawad returned to Afghanistan after 9/11 to assist in the state-building process, where he played a versatile and crucial role in government, serving as President Karzai’s Press Secretary, Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of International Relations. In these positions, Ambassador Jawad formulated and managed strategies, implemented policies, assisted in the building and re-building of national institutions (including the Afghan National Army) as well as prioritizing major reforms in Afghanistan, notably to the Ministry of Defense. Ambassador Jawad also served as the President’s principal liaison with the constitutional commission throughout the drafting of the Afghan Constitution and was instrumental in drafting Afghanistan’s foreign investment laws.
A fluent speaker of English, German and French, Ambassador Jawad was educated at the Afghan French Lycée Esteqial and School of Law and Political Sciences at Kabul University and later at Westfaelische Wilhelms University in Muenster, Germany. He earned his MBA from the Golden Gate University in San Francisco and subsequently worked for a number of prominent law firms in the United States.
He is married to Shamim Jawad, a financial consultant, and they have a son, Iman, who is currently studying for his BA at Tufts University.
