Afghan Royal Descendant Appointed as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan
Mary Kabir-Seraj Bischoping has been appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan within the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. This marks the first political appointment concerning Afghanistan under President Donald Trump’s current administration.
Bischoping, 33, is a Californian-born attorney of Afghan descent, tracing her lineage to the Barakzai dynasty that ruled Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978. Her great-grandmother, Queen Soraya Tarzi, was advocated for for women’s rights, and her grandmother, Latifa Kabir Seraj, was among Afghanistan’s pioneer female journalists.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Bischoping joined the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. In 2023, she became senior counsel to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, leading oversight investigations related to the withdrawal.
In her new role, Bischoping will oversee U.S. policy toward Afghanistan, a position previously held by Thomas West, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Rina Amiri, who served as the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights.
Fluent in Dari and German, Bischoping’s appointment comes at a time when Afghanistan faces several challenges under Taliban rule.
