Ambassador Rend Al-Rahim

Co-Founder and President, Iraq Foundation

Ambassador Rend Al-Rahim is the co-founder and president of the Iraq Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the support and promotion of democracy, human rights, and civil society in Iraq. Al-Rahim has been active in the Iraqi public arena, civic leadership, and human rights and democracy advocacy and is recognized as a leading expert on Iraq. Al-Rahim travels to Iraq regularly to provide training for members of the Iraqi Parliament and civic leaders and to strengthen cooperation with multiple stakeholders. Al-Rahim has collaborated with academic and research institutions, including Princeton University, the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London, and the University of Pennsylvania, on forums addressing the Iraqi Constitution. From November 2003 to March 2005, she joined the Iraqi diplomatic service, serving as Iraq’s chief of mission to the United States. In this capacity she represented Iraq before the government of the United States and the U.S. Congress, multinational organizations such as the World Bank, and the international media. In 2007 Al-Rahim was awarded a Jennings Randolph Senior Fellowship at the United States Institute of Peace. In 2008-09 she continued with USIP as senior fellow for Iraq. Al-Rahim is the co-author, with Graham Fuller, of The Arab Shi’a: Forgotten Muslims, published in 1999 by St. Martin’s Press, in addition to articles and op-eds in numerous publications. She has testified before the U.S. Congress as an expert on Iraq. She is a frequent analyst on Iraqi affairs in U.S., Arab, and international media. Al-Rahim currently serves on the advisory board of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. She was educated in Iraq, the United Kingdom, and France, and holds a BA and an MA from the University of Cambridge and an MA from the University of the Sorbonne.