Faryar Shirzad Appointed as Special Assistant to the U.S. President and Senior Director for Economic Affairs

Faryar Shirzad has been appointed as the Special Assistant to the U.S. President and Senior Director for Economic Affairs - 2003-03-14. An Iranian-American has entered the White House as Special Assistant to the U.S. President and Director of International Economic Affairs. More details can be heard in a report prepared by the Persian section of Voice of America. The news of Faryar Shirzad's appointment was announced by Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. National Security Advisor. The White House stated that Mr. Shirzad will succeed John Claude, who previously held this position at the White House. Before assuming his new role at the White House, Mr. Shirzad was the Director of Imports at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He required Senate confirmation for this position, which was completed without any issues. Prior to his appointment as Director of Imports, Mr. Shirzad worked as a coordinator of trade policies in the Bush-Cheney transition team. Before joining the U.S. government, from 1997 to 2001, he served as an advisor on international trade as part of the staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Mr. Shirzad graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in law and has studied finance and international trade at several universities and prestigious schools, including Harvard University. Faryar Shirzad is the son of Nasser Shirzad, a former Iranian diplomat who managed the Iranian consulate in Houston, Texas, before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He also held various diplomatic positions in London and other Iranian diplomatic offices abroad, which is why he took his children, including Faryar, who has now reached a high position in the White House in Washington, with him around the world.