Said Tayeb Jawad

Said Tayeb Jawad (Persian: سید طیب جواد‎‎, born 1958) is the Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Kingdom. He previously served as the Senior Political and Foreign Policy Advisor to His Excellency Chief Executive of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah. He was also the CEO of Capitalize LLC, a strategic consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. He was appointed Afghan Ambassador to the United States on December 4, 2003, by President Hamid Karzai and served as Ambassador until September 22, 2010. He also served as Afghanistan’s non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. He was Chief of Staff to the Afghan President in 2002 and 2003.

In October 2010, he joined Harvard University's Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the John F. Kennedy School of Government as the inaugural Fisher Family Fellow. In February 2011, he became Diplomat-in-Residence at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. He also currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Capitalize LLC, a Washington-based strategic consulting company and the Chairman of the Foundation for Afghanistan. He is also a Global Political Strategist at APCO Worldwide. and a member of Advisory Board of Concordia Summit.As corporate CEO of CAPITALIZE, he led a dynamic team of international business experts advising governments, international companies and investors on politics, defense, security, market entry, commercial opportunities, and development strategies in Central Asia and the Gulf regions, including Afghanistan.

Said Tayeb Jawad was born in Kandahar, and was educated at Lycée Esteqlal and at the School of Law and Political Sciences in Kabul University. In 1980, shortly after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he left the country and went into exile in Germany, where he studied law at the University of Münster.

In 1986 he settled in the United States, where he earned his MBA from the Golden Gate University in San Francisco and worked for a number of prominent law firms, including as a legal consultant at Steefel, Levitt & Weiss, a San Francisco Embarcadero law firm. He holds an honorary doctorate degree in International Management from Argosy University in Washington, D.C. (2004).

As Afghan Ambassador to the United States, he re-established the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. and developed it into one of the most responsive and successful missions in Washington. He managed Afghanistan's diplomacy at a critical time with its key strategic partner through extensive interaction with the White House, State Department, Pentagon, U.S. Congress, US. Media and academia; and initiated Afghanistan's diplomatic relations with Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Mexico.

He is fluent in several languages, including Dari (Persian), Pashto, English, German and French. He is married to Shamim Jawad, Founder and President of the a charitable organization that works on projects for women and children in Afghanistan.

Return to Afghanistan

Jawad went back to Afghanistan in March 2002. He worked for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office and became his press secretary. By June, in addition to trying to coordinate the loya jirga, or grand council, for thousands of delegates and journalists, Jawad had become Karzai's Chief of Staff.

Until late 2003 he served as the President’s Press Secretary, Chief of Staff, and the Director of the Office of International Relations at the Presidential Palace. Jawad has worked closely with President Karzai in formulating strategies, implementing policies, building national institutions and prioritizing reforms in Afghanistan. He also worked with the U.S. and Afghanistan's military experts to help reform the Ministry of Defense, disarm local warlords and rebuild the Afghan National Army. Jawad was instrumental in drafting Afghanistan’s foreign investment laws; he served as President Karzai’s principal liaison with the constitutional commission throughout the drafting of the Constitution of Afghanistan. As Chief of Staff he accompanied the President and managed all foreign trips and state visits. He observed cabinet meetings and participated in the National Security Council meetings.

In October 2003 he was appointed Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador to the U.S.

On December 4, 2003, Jawad assumed his official duties as Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, making him Afghanistan's 19th top representative to the U.S. since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1934. 

As part of his role as Afghanistan's envoy to the U.S., Jawad has worked closely with two presidential administrations on U.S. strategy towards Afghanistan; developed close links to members of the U.S. Congress; hosted numerous visits of high-level ministers and President Karzai; appeared in newspaper, magazine, radio and television interviews; spoken before audiences at universities, think tanks, charitable organizations and community groups; and received awards and commendations for his work for Afghanistan.

Jawad has appeared numerous times in major American and international papers and television shows. He also regularly lectures and speaks at prominent universities and think tanks. According to the Washington Times Jawad has maintained a high profile for Afghanistan, even as most public attention since 2003 has been focused on the Iraq War.Washington Times: Afghan Progress

In late 2009 there were rumours that Jawad would be appointed foreign minister of AfghanistanMondiaal Nieuws Nieuwe regering, maar oude gewoonten in AfghanistanTolo TV: Afghan people want removal of present cabinet members but Karzai appointed Zalmai Rasul instead.

Jawad has participated in hundreds of conferences and forums related to Afghanistan and the region. Jawad is an avid polo player and a member of the Capitol Polo Club in Maryland. He played in the Green Cup and is a member of the United States Polo Association. Jawad has participated in many significant conferences and forums related to Afghanistan and the region in the past decade.[1]

Political views

Having lived in Europe and the USA for more than 25 years, Jawad is familiar with western views on society and politics. He has been supportive of the American War on Terror and of involvement of women in Afghan politics. Jawad has said that the biggest concern that Afghans have about the international presence is that it might be short-lived.

Jawad has been loyal to President Hamid Karzai. He publicly defended Karzai against allegations of corruption and said that he is the most hard-working president Afghanistan has ever had. Nevertheless, in October 2009 he was the first Karzai aide to suggest that a run-off between Karzai and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah was very likely after allegations of election fraud. He said that a power sharing agreement between Karzai and Abdullah would be a good political solution but said he doubted that it would bring more skillful people to the government and that a coalition government meant sacrificing merits.

Jawad and his wife have worked several times with former U.S. first lady Laura Bush in promoting awareness of rights for Afghan woman and children. However Jawad criticized the Bush administration sometimes on using so much aerial bombing, resulting in civilian casualties, Jawad has expressed his gratitude to the US and foreign military powers in Afghanistan on a large number of occasions. Towards President Barack Obama, who was less supportive of Afghan President Karzai, Jawad was more critical: "When the new administration came in there were a lot of changes and sometimes there was an oversimplification of the issues. Now the Obama administration is realizing you cannot just get rid of a democratically elected president of a country because you don't really like him." he said to United Press International. Further Jawad has voiced opposition to President Obama's plan to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan starting summer 2011. Jawad stressed the importance of continued international presence to avoid a situation as in the early 90s.

Jawad has stressed that too much of the international aid and military effort had bypassed the Afghan government which makes it impossible to build competent government and security. Jawad also has said that eradication of poppies is not the best solution to the Afghan narcotics problem. In May 2005 Jawad signed a memorandum of understanding for the city of light, a large reconstruction plan for the center of Kabul.

Jawad has criticized Pakistan for not doing enough to stop the Taliban insurgency. Although he recognizes that new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari seems much more committed to battling terrorism than his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf. But, according to Jawad, Pakistan's army still appears to be more preoccupied with the country's traditional nemesis, India.

In November 2013, Jawad participated with the Loya Jirga in Kabul to discuss and offer his insights on the status and terms of the Bilateral Security Agreement, the Presidential elections and political transition, as well as the international community's level of economic assistance, military engagement and jurisdiction for operating foreign troops in the country up to and post-2014.

Awards, honorary degrees and international conferences

Awards and honorary degrees granted to Jawad include the Constitutional Loya Jirga Service, Medal, Government of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, 2003; Global Citizen Award, Roots of Peace, Washington, D.C., 2008; Honorary Doctorate Degree in Organization Leadership, Argosy University, Washington, D.C. 2007; and the Award of Merit for Rebuilding a Nation, American Society for Engineering Education, Washington, D.C, 2007.

In his role as Senior Political and Foreign Policy Advisor to the CEO of Afghanistan, Ambassador Jawad was a key participant in the US Afghanistan Dialogue at Camp David, which was hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry on March 23, 2015. Jawad attended the Dialogue as part of the Afghan Delegation, which consisted of Afghanistan's President, Chief Executive Officer, and other high ranking government officials.http://aboutcampdavid.blogspot.com/2015/07/secretary-of-state-john-kerry-hosts.html

Ambassador Jawad was selected by the U.S Department of Commerce to participate in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa. He attended and contributed to the Forum in Amman, Jordan from 21-23 May, 2015. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_MENA15_Meeting_Overview.pdf

Ambassador Jawad attended the fifth anniversary of the Concordia Summit held in New York City on October 1 and 2, 1015. The Concordia Summit convened the world's preeminent leaders and decision makers to address the world's most pressing global challenges and emphasizing the need for effective cross-sector collaboration to lead to a more prosperous and sustainable future. Jawad attended and contributed to the Summit as an active Concordia member.<http://www.concordia.net/the-summit-2015/>

Ambassador Jawad has attended and been a key contributor to various Halifax International Security Forums, most recently the one which convened on the 20-23 November 2015. The forum served as a platform for various international leaders, diplomats, and security professionals to comment on and assess the change in the increased threat level in the global landscape.

The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) hosted Ambassador Jawad at their headquarters in Rome, as an honored guest and key contributor to their Assembly of Parties. He contributed to the Organization's internal review regarding the best platform to approach rule of law and development in various countries, including work specifically in Afghanistan.

Ambassador Jawad participated at the NATO Summit on Afghanistan on July 8 - 9, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland, along with Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani. At this summit, NATO reaffirmed its commitment to and confirmed funding for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces until at least the end of 2020.

As Senior Political and Foreign Policy Advisor, Ambassador Jawad accompanied the Chief Executive of Afghanistan, Dr. Abdullah, to the World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul, Turkey, May 23 - 24, 2016.

Ambassador Jawad also participated at the London Conference on Afghanistan on December 4, 2014, in London, United Kingdom, where the conference provided a platform for the government of Afghanistan to set out its vision for reform and for the international community to demonstrate enduring solidarity and support for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Realities of War and Rebuilding

The Guns of Kabul, New York Times. [1]