Shirin Tahir-Kheli

Selection of Shirin Tahir-Kheli as Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State on United Nations Reform

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appointed Shirin Tahir-Kheli as Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State on UN Reform.

Dr. Tahir-Kheli will serve as the Secretary’s senior advisor and chief interlocutor on United Nations reform. In collaboration with the Assistant Secretary for International Organizations, Dr. Tahir-Kheli will report directly to the Secretary of State. She will engage the UN Secretary General and Secretariat on UN reform efforts, including the High Level Panel Report and the Report of the Secretary General on Reform.

Dr. Tahir-Keli will coordinate within the State Department and interagency community the U.S. government’s positions on UN reform.

Dr. Shirin Tahir-Kheli served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights and International Operations at the National Security Council from 2003-2005. Previously, she was a Research Professor and Founding Director of the South Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Tahir-Kheli served as Head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2001 and Alternate U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs (1990-1993). Dr. Tahir-Kheli earned a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University.

2005/311 Released on March 11, 2005 Press Statement Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC March 11, 2005