Samira Asghari (; born 31 March 1994) is a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

for

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

since 2018. Upon her election at the age of 24, Asghari became the first representative from Afghanistan and one of the youngest ever members to join the IOC. Before being selected for the IOC, Asghari played for the Afghanistan women's national basketball team and worked for the

Afghanistan National Olympic Committee National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (, , IOC code: AFG), unrecognizably known as General Directorate of Olympics, Physical Education and Sports (, ) during Taliban takeover, formerly known as Afghanistan National Oly ...

during the 2010s. With the ANOC, Asghari briefly held the finance director and Deputy Secretary General positions in the early to mid 2010s.

Early life and education

On 31 March 1994, Asghari was born in the

Jalrez District Jalrez (Pashto/) is a Districts of Afghanistan, district in the west of Maidan Shar, Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. The main town lies at Jalrez, which is southwest of the centre of Kabul via the main Kabul-Behsud Highway. The district is ...

. Shortly after her birth, Asghari and her family became war refugees and moved to Iran. Growing up, Asghari played association football and basketball while attending school. For her post-secondary education, Asghari went to Kateb University for a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

Career

During the 2010s, Asghari joined the Afghanistan women's national basketball team and was named captain of the Afghan basketball team. Outside of basketball, Asghari worked for an Afghan agency in women's sports before starting her Olympic career with the

. With the NOC, Asghari first held positions in women's sports and international relations. As an executive for the NOC, Asghari held one year positions as finance director and Deputy Secretary General during the early to mid 2010s. During this time period, Asghari joined committees for the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a sports governing body, governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA on 8 July 2023. However, on 3 ...

and

in 2014. In 2018, Asghari became the first elected member of the

from Afghanistan. Her election made Asghari one of the youngest ever members of the IOC when she joined at age 24. As part of the committee, Asghari was selected to join a commission for future winter Olympics in 2019. Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, it was confirmed that Asghari was living in Europe. Fearful for the safety of her fellow Afghan female athletes, she called on the United States to help them evacuate the country.

Awards and honors

In 2019, the Afghanistan Sports Journalists Federation presented Asghari with the Sports Personality of the Year award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asghari, Samira 1994 births Afghan basketball players International Olympic Committee members Living people People from Maidan Wardak Province