Gufran Al-Nadaf

Gufran Al-Nadaf (born 17 December 1967) is a Swedish journalist and diplomat of Iraqi–Iranian descent who formerly became the ambassador to Argentina from 2013 to 2016. She began her career at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and during Sweden's tenure on the UN Security Council (2017–2018), she held the positions of ambassador for children and armed conflict.

Early life and education Al-Nadaf was born in Bucharest and raised in Iraq, but she also spent her early years in Romania, Iran, and Libya. Her parents are Iraqi and Iranian, respectively. She attended the universities of Uppsala and Stockholm.

Diplomatic career

Argentina

Al-Nadaf, the ambassador to Argentina, was one of several new ambassadors nominated by the Swedish government on 11 April 2013. At the time of her appointment, she worked in the Middle East and North Africa division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She had previously worked in the Foreign Ministry's Press, Information, and Communications Unit, the then-embassy in Lima, the embassy in Damascus, where she was in charge of monitoring Lebanon, and other places.

UN Security Council She later served as Swedish Ambassador for Children and Armed Conflict, since March 2017. She was based at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. Within the framework of Swedish foreign and development policy, she would be in charge of organising the activities related to children and armed conflict.

Al-Nadaf's trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with UNICEF came to a close on 24 May 2018. The Ambassador has visited with both children who were directly involved in fighting and children whose communities are harmed to have a deeper understanding of the effects of the armed conflict on children in Congo and to boost her advocacy work.

Later life According to Al-Nadaf, the rector of the Foreign Ministry's Diplomat Program, a selection process that was too restrictive can undermine democracy because Swedish diplomats are expected to be able to represent the entirety of Sweden. Since September 2019, she has served as the special diplomatic program's rector.