Ismat Jahan

Ismat Jahan (born 1960) is the Permanent Observer of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to the European Union. From 2009 to 2016, she was Ambassador of Bangladesh to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Communities and from 2007 to 2009, she was the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations.^[1]

Education

A career diplomat of the 1982 batch of Bangladesh Civil Service (Foreign Affairs) cadre, Jahan had her education in the University of Dhaka with an honours and a master's degree in economics.

Later, she did her MA in law and diplomacy from The Fletcher School, Tufts University, with cross-registered course works at Harvard University, Boston, US. She was also a fellow in the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, US.

Diplomatic career

During her diplomatic career, Jahan served in various capacities at Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Ministry as well as missions abroad including Bangladesh's Permanent Missions in New York City and Geneva, and High Commission in New Delhi. She was Bangladesh's Ambassador to the Netherlands (2005–2007).

Prior to her appointment as Ambassador to the Netherlands,^[2] Jahan served as a Director General of the International Organisations, United Nations and Multilateral Economic Affairs Wings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh.

In July 2016, she was appointed as the head the OIC's Permanent Observer Mission to the European Union.^[3]

Marriage

She is married to Johannes den Heijer, a national of the Netherlands and professor of Arabic language and literature at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. Her marriage was the first time a Bangladeshi diplomat has married a non-Bangladeshi citizen.

References