Ashraf Jehangir Qazi (Urdu: اشرف جہانگیر قاضی; born 1942) is a Pakistani diplomat and politician who has held several national and international appointments, including serving with the United Nations.

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi
Ambassador of Pakistan to China
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
UN Special Envoy to Iraq
Personal details
Born1942 (age 81–82)
NationalityPakistani
Residence(s)Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi presenting his credentials to the President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma

Diplomatic career

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In 2004, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had named him as the head of the UN mission in Iraq where he helped co-ordinate humanitarian and reconstruction efforts. Before that appointment, he was serving as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C.[1][2]

In 2007, Qazi was appointed as a special representative of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Sudan. He completed his tenure in Sudan in 2010. Between 2004 and 2007, he was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in charge of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq.[1]

Between 2002 and 2004, Qazi was Pakistan's ambassador to the United States. Before that, he was Pakistan's High Commissioner to India since 1997 and ambassador to Syria (1986–88), East Germany (1990–91), Russia (1991–94), and later to China (1994–97).[1] While at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, he served as director of East Asia (1975–1978), director-general for Policy Planning, Afghanistan (1982–1986) and Additional Foreign Secretary for Policy Planning, Afghanistan, Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (1988–1990). He also has had diplomatic assignments in Copenhagen, Tokyo, Cairo, Tripoli and London.

Personal life

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Ashraf Qazi was the only son of an ethnic Hazara father, Qazi Mohammad Musa,[3][4] and an Irish mother, Jennifer Musa.[5] His father belonged to the prominent Qazi family of Balochistan, whose notable members included Ashraf's paternal uncle, Qazi Muhammad Essa, a leading figure of the Pakistan Movement;[3] and Essa's son Qazi Faez Isa, a jurist who is the current Chief Justice of Pakistan and who formerly served as the Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court.[4] Ashraf's paternal grandfather served as the prime minister of the princely Kalat State.[3]

His mother was Catholic and a native of County Kerry, Ireland.[6] Ashraf's parents met in England in 1939 while his father was studying philosophy at Oxford; they married in 1940, and settled in his paternal family's hometown of Pishin in Balochistan in 1947, from where his mother eventually came into Pakistani politics.[6][3] In 1956, when Ashraf was aged 14, his father died in a road accident. He was thus raised by his mother.[3] Ashraf has five half-siblings from his father's first marriage.[3]

Further reading

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  • Phadnis, Aditi (4 April 2021). "Welcome re-engagement process between India & Pak: Ashraf Jehangir Qazi". Business Standard.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Annan names new UN envoy to Iraq BBC News, Updated 12 July 2004, Retrieved 13 July 2018
  2. ^ "Ashraf Jehangir Qazi Of Pakistan Appointed Special Representative For Iraq". United Nations website. 14 July 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Owen O’Shea; Gordon Revington (8 October 2018). Century of Politics in the Kingdom: A County Kerry Compendium. Merrion Press. pp. 103, 104–. ISBN 978-1-78537-203-2.
  4. ^ a b Javed, Saleem (29 June 2012). "Hope fades away for Hazaras of Pakistan". Dawn. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2020. Hazaras also played an important role in the formation of Pakistan. A Hazara politician, Qazi Mohammad Essa (his son, Faiz Essa, is the present Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court), was the founder of Balochistan Muslim League who represented Balochistan in Lahore Resolution in 1940.
  5. ^ "Telegraph Obituary of Jennifer Musa (Ashraf Qazi's mother)". The Daily Telegraph (UK newspaper). London. 19 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  6. ^ a b Danny Kemp (14 December 2006). "Irish-born woman is 'Queen of Balochistan'". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 13 July 2018.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Khalid Mahmood
Pakistan Ambassador to China
1994–1997
Succeeded by
Preceded by Pakistan High Commissioner to India
1997–2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
2002–2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by UN Special Envoy to Iraq
2004–2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Manuel de Aranda e Silva
UN SRSG in the Sudan
2007–present
Succeeded by
Incumbent