Ismat Jahan (born 3 June 1960) is a Bangladeshi diplomat who is currently serving as the permanent observer of the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...

to the European Union. From 2009 to 2016, she was the ambassador of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and from 2007 to 2009, she was the ambassador and permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations.

Education

A career diplomat of the 1982 batch of Bangladesh Civil Service (foreign affairs) cadre, Jahan had her education in the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

with an honours and a master's in economics. Later, Jahan did her MA in law and diplomacy from

The Fletcher School The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. She was also a fellow in the

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Founded in 1919, SFS is the oldest continu ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in the United States.

Career

During her diplomatic career, Jahan served in various capacities at Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Ministry as well as missions abroad including Bangladesh's permanent missions in New York City and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and High Commission in New Delhi. She was Bangladesh's ambassador to the Netherlands (2005–2007). Following her appointment as ambassador to the Netherlands, Jahan served as permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations. She was the first woman permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN. From 2009 to 2016, Jahan served as the Bangladesh ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and head of mission to the

. In 2010, Jahan was elected as member of the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (

CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...

). In July 2016, she was appointed as the head the

(OIC)'s Permanent Observer Mission to the European Union. In her role, Jahan contributes to raising awareness to anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate speech, including of hate speech on social media.

Personal life

Jahan is married to Johannes den Heijer, a Dutch professor of Arabic language and literature at the

Université Catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

in Belgium. Under a rule dating back to 1976, Bangladesh foreign ministry officials were not allowed to marry foreign nationals. The law was amended in 2008, following a request by Jahan to marry den Heijer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jahan, Ismat 1960 births Living people The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Walsh School of Foreign Service faculty Bangladeshi women diplomats Permanent representatives of Bangladesh to the United Nations in Geneva United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women members Bangladeshi women ambassadors Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Belgium Ambassadors of Bangladesh to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Bangladesh to the European Union