Uzra Zeya is an American diplomat who had served as the

under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights The under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights is a position within the U.S. Department of State that leads the State Department's efforts to prevent and counter threats to civilian security. The under secretary oversees ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

. She is the current President and CEO of Human Rights First.

Early life and education

Zeya was born in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

, to immigrants from

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, India. Zeya's sister, Rena Golden (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Rena Shaheen Zeya), died in 2013 due to

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

. Zeya graduated from 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 ...

Career

Uzra Zeya worked as a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service for 27 years. During the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

, Zeya served as the acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary in the

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. History ...

. She also worked in the Embassy of the United States, Paris, from 2014 to 2017. In 2013, Zeya was suspected to have been involved in the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade. Zeya was accused of helping evacuate the domestic help's kin out of India, just two days prior to Khobragade's arrest. In 2018, Zeya wrote in ''Politico'' wrote that she left the State Department after not being promoted because she did not pass the Trump administration's "Breitbart test" due to her race and gender. From 2019 through 2021, Zeya served as the president and CEO of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a network of organizations working to end violent conflict worldwide. Zeya also worked for the Albright Stonebridge Group, a Washington, D.C.–based consulting firm co-founded by former secretary of state

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

Biden administration

President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

nominated Zeya to be

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights The under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights is a position within the U.S. Department of State that leads the State Department's efforts to prevent and counter threats to civilian security. The under secretary oversees ...

in March 2021. The

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...

held a hearing on her nomination on April 15, 2021. The committee favorably reported the nomination to the U.S. Senate on April 21, 2021. Zeya was confirmed on July 13, 2021, by a vote of 73–24, and assumed office on July 14. On December 20, 2021, Zeya was designated by Secretary of State

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

to serve concurrently as the United States special coordinator for Tibetan issues. Zeya met with Tibetan exile leader

Penpa Tsering Penpa Tsering (; born 1967) is a Tibetan politician based in India. He is the second democratically elected Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in India. He succeeded the last Sikyong Lobsang Sangay on 27 May 2021. Penpa Tsering was the ...

in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2022, in the first of a series of meetings to promote freedoms in Tibet.

Later career

In April 2025, Zeya was announced as the next President and CEO of Human Rights First, a leading international human rights organization founded in 1978 to advance freedom and protect rights.

References

External links

* American people of Indian descent Women diplomats for the United States Biden administration personnel Georgetown University alumni Obama administration personnel Living people People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni United States Department of State publications United States under secretaries of state Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-gov-bio-stub