Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
President Obama nominated Katherine S. Dhanani to serve as the first United States Ambassador to Somalia since 1991. Dhanani, who once said she had become a “Hyderabadi” during her stint as U.S. Consul General in Hyderabad, is married to Azim Dhanani. Her nomination which was announced Feb. 24, has to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
After a 14-year hiatus, her nomination as envoy to this difficult country is seen as a historic move by the administration, and is a signal of the confidence it has in Dhanani’s qualifications and experience in Africa and the developing world in general. Washington wants to renew and deepen the relationship between the United States and Somalia, State Department Jan Psaki said in a statement. The lowest point in U.S.-Somalia relations was in 1993 when two American Blackhawk helicopters were shot down by extremists and the bodies of several American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
During her stint in India, Dhanani maintained a blog of her stay in Hyderabad. In a Dec. 28, 2012 entry she said, “I’ve become such a confirmed Hyderabadi that I can even contemplate the possibility of staying up with friends celebrating New Year’s Eve and making it until breakfast is served at 4 am.” She talks about “a world drowning in bad news” including the “horrific crimes” with she said “create a pervasive sense of insecurity and highlight the fact that man is capable of unspeakable evil as well as good.”
Her New Year resolution she said, was to think and active positively. “Envisioning a more positive future provides the energy to make it happen,” she said.
In her entry for International Women’s Day in March 8, 2011, Dhanani reveals that she was the first person in her family to complete a bachelor’s degree; that she married (Azim Dhanani) at the age of 44, and appreciates “how lucky I am to have a husband who was willing to put his career on the back burner to support me in mine.”
Dhanani will be stationed in the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya as Somalia continues to be fraught with conflict. “As security conditions permit, we look forward to increasing our diplomatic presence in Somalia and eventually reopening the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu,” the State Department said in a release. A new government recognized by the international community took over in Somalia in 2012 and the U.S. granted it recognition in January 2013.
Dhanani has been a Foreign Service Officer since 1990, and has served in several countries including Mexico, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Guyana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. She graduated in Economics from Kenyon College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and taught economics at Grinnell College before joining the Foreign Service.
