Naz Durakoğlu (born June 13, 1985) is a Turkish-American foreign policy and national security advisor who is the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs.

Naz Durakoğlu
Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
Assumed office
January 20, 2021
Acting: January 20, 2021 – July 22, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byMary Elizabeth Taylor
Personal details
Born (1985-06-13) June 13, 1985 (age 38)
EducationRutgers University, New Brunswick (BA)
Naval War College (MA)

Early life and education edit

Durakoğlu is first generation Turkish-American.[1] She earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and philosophy from Rutgers University and a master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.[2]

Career edit

From 2007 to 2008, Durakoğlu worked on the national advance staff of the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential primary campaign. She then worked as deputy finance director for Michael McMahon's 2008 campaign for New York's 13th congressional district. From 2009 to 2011, she served as McMahon's legislative assistant. Also in 2011, she served as a legislative assistant for Congressman Anthony Weiner. From 2011 to 2015, she was the legislative director for Congressman Bill Keating. From 2013 to 2015, she was the staff director for the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Emerging Threats. From 2015 to 2017, she served as a senior advisor in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. She later worked for the Digital Forensic Research Lab, a program founded in 2016 as a part of the Atlantic Council. From 2017 to 2021, she served as national security advisor for Senator Jeanne Shaheen. In January 2021, she was selected to serve as deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs and acting secretary before being appointed permanently to the position on July 22, 2022.[3]

Personal life edit

Durakoğlu speaks Turkish.

References edit

  1. ^ Hartman, Leigh (2021-06-15). "Turkish American women tackle the challenges of government". ShareAmerica. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  2. ^ "Naz Durakoglu, Nonresident Fellow, DFRLab". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  3. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-11.