US President-elect Joe Biden has named Uzra Zeya, an Indian-American diplomat who quit her State Department job in protest against the outgoing administration’s alleged racial and sexist bias, as his Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.
Confirming the development on Saturday night, Zeya tweeted: “In my 25+years as a diplomat, I learned that America’s greatest strength is the power of our example, diversity & democratic ideals. I will uphold and defend these values, if confirmed, as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.
Zeya, who has more than two decades of experience with the Department of State and has expertise in Near East, South Asian, Europe, human rights and multilateral affairs, was nominated on January 16, The American Bazaar reported.
“Zeya will be a champion for putting universal rights and strengthening democracy at the centre of our efforts to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” the Biden transition team said while announcing her nomination. Zeya, who joined the US Foreign Service in 1990, left the State Department in 2018, alleging that Outgoing President Donald Trump’s administration was bent on reversing decades of gains made by minorities and women under secretaries like Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton.