US president nominates Herro Mustafa Garg as ambassador to Egypt

CAIRO – 30 March 2023: US President Joe Biden nominated Herro Mustafa Garg to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Egypt, the US White House announced in a statement on Wednesday.

Herro Mustafa Garg is an American-Iraqi woman whose Kurdish family was opponent to the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and came to the US as political refugees, according to State Magazine, issued by the US Department of State in July/August 2004.

“Her family story is the subject of the documentary film, "American Herro," and in 2021 she was honored by the Carnegie Corporation as one of the Great Immigrants of America. She has a Bachelor’s from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Master’s from Princeton University,” the White House statement read.

She is “a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria from October 2019 to March 2023.

Previously, she was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal and Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

“Earlier, Mustafa Garg worked in the Office of the Vice President on issues related to the Middle East and South and Central Asia,” the White House statement said.

“Her other Washington assignments include Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Office; Advisor on the Middle East in the Office of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs; Director for Iran, Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, and Jordan at the National Security Council; as well as National Security Council Director for Iraq and Afghanistan,” the statement continued.

Herro also was the U.S. Civilian Coordinator in Mosul, Iraq, and occupied the positions of the Consular Officer in Beirut, Lebanon, and the Political Officer in Athens, Greece.

“She is the recipient of the Matilda W. Sinclaire Award for superior achievement in a foreign language,” the statement concluded.