Roya Rahmani

Ambassador Roya Rahmani joined the financial advisory firm Delphos as Vice Chair of Public Policy and serves as the Chair of the Delphos International Board. She is a former diplomat with over two decades of experience working with governments, nongovernmental organizations, and multilateral institutions. Her main areas of focus include human rights, women’s empowerment, and education.

In 2018, Amb. Rahmani was appointed Ambassador to the United States and was the first woman to hold this position. She also served as non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. She was Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to Indonesia, first ever ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and non-resident ambassador to Singapore.

Previously, Amb. Rahmani worked for Afghanistan's Ministry of Education as a Planning and Evaluation Advisor. She later joined Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first as a senior advisor to the Deputy Foreign Minister, then as Director General of Regional Cooperation Initiatives. Before entering government, she worked for several nonprofits that primarily focused on women's rights and education.

Amb. Rahmani has been honored with several accolades including the Best Human Rights Activist Award by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, “The People’s Ambassador” by Tatler Indonesia as well as recognition by the Alliance for Peacebuilding for her efforts to create an inclusive peace process. She was also featured on TIME Magazine’s “100 Next List” as she is a “fierce advocate of peace on Afghan terms.”

Amb. Rahmani is a Senior Advisor at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. She also serves as a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, as well as a senior fellow for international security at the New America Foundation.

Amb. Rahmani holds a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from McGill University and a master’s degree in public administration and international law from Columbia University.