Farewell of the First Iranian-American Ambassador in Sweden to the First Iranian-Swedish Minister

Azita Raji's mission as the first female U.S. ambassador to Sweden will conclude on January 20. On Friday, January 13, the U.S. Embassy hosted a farewell party that received remarkable media attention and response. Among the special guests were prominent Swedish diplomat and former Foreign Minister, former UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, and Swedish Minister of Civil Affairs Laila Shukrabi, who attended the event with her husband. Mr. Shukrabi, a lawyer and human rights activist, sought asylum in Sweden at the age of 11. Before becoming a minister, he was a representative of Stockholm County in Parliament. The widely circulated newspaper Dagens noted Ms. Raji's speech: 'In my short stay, I found lifelong friends; my achievements exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed every working day. The relations between Sweden and the U.S. reached their peak due to the shared democratic values of the two countries.' Azita Raji was the Deputy National Budget Director in Barack Obama's 2012 election campaign. She has been a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Democratic Party since 2008. Ms. Raji has engaged in numerous humanitarian activities, including a managerial role in non-profit organizations focused on education, women, and family. She moved to the U.S. at the age of 17 and studied architecture and French at the undergraduate level and budgeting at the master's level at Columbia University. In addition to Persian and English, Ms. Raji is also fluent in French.