REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: The Arab Republic of Egypt
CANDIDATE: Herro Mustafa Garg
Herro Kader Mustafa, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, most recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, a position she held since 2019. Previously, she was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal and Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Embassy New Delhi, India. Earlier, Mustafa worked in the Office of the Vice President on issues related to the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Other Washington assignments include Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Office; Advisor on the Middle East in the Office of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs; Director for Iran, Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, and Jordan at the National Security Council; and National Security Council Director for Iraq and Afghanistan. Her overseas postings include lead U.S. Civilian Coordinator in Mosul, Iraq; Consular Officer in Beirut, Lebanon; and Political Officer in Athens, Greece. Mustafa’s extensive experience working on Middle East issues, her language expertise, her management experience and demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams make her a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt.
Mustafa is the recipient of three Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards, multiple Superior Honor Awards and the Matilda W. Sinclaire Award for superior achievement in a foreign language. She grew up in North Dakota and speaks Kurdish, Arabic, Farsi, Greek, Hindi, Bulgarian, and Portuguese. Her family story is the subject of the documentary film American Herro and in 2021 she was honored by the Carnegie Corporation as one of the Great Immigrants of America. Mustafa has a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Master’s degree from Princeton University.