Robin L. Raphel

Senior Associate (Non-resident), Project on Prosperity and Development
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Robin L. Raphel

Robin L. Raphel is an expert in political, security, and economic development issues in South Asia and the Middle East. As a career Foreign Service officer, she worked for nearly 40 years in foreign affairs agencies, including the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, and U.S. Department of Defense. She has served as assistant secretary of state for South Asia, ambassador to Tunisia, vice president of the National Defense University, and deputy special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. She managed the sharp increase of development assistance to Pakistan under the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and she deployed to Iraq with the first civilian contingent after the 2003 invasion to help restore the critical food ration system throughout the country. Earlier in her career, she served in Pakistan, India, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, and she taught history at Damavand Women’s College in Iran. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the board of the Association of Diplomatic Studies and Training. Ambassador Raphel holds a B.A. degree in history and economics from the University of Washington and master's degrees in economics from the University of Maryland and modern European history from Cambridge University.