Shirin Tahir-Kheli

2012 Great Immigrants

Shirin Tahir-Kheli

Political scientist

Born in India

Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli is the first Asian-American and the first Muslim to represent the United States at the United Nations. In 2008, she was appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to serve as her senior advisor for women’s empowerment. In 2011 Newsweek named her one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World” for helping to build bridges between the U.S. and Pakistan. She holds an MA and PhD in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Updated 2012