Shefali Razdan Duggal

Last updated
Rajat Duggal
​
(m. 1998)​
Shefali Razdan Duggal
Shefali Razdan Duggal, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
Official portrait, 2022
United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office
October 19, 2022 –January 20, 2025
Education Miami University (BA)
New York University - Steinhardt (MA)

Shefali Razdan Duggal (born November 22, 1971) [1] is an Indian-American political activist and diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to the Netherlands from 2022 to 2025. She was previously appointed by President Barack Obama to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which supervises the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, for a term which expired in January 2018. [2]

Contents

Razdan Duggal served on the board of Emily's List, [3] served as a Deputy National Finance Director of the Democratic National Committee [4] and recently served on the National Finance Committee of Joe Biden for President 2020. [5] Razdan Duggal recently accepted an invitation to join the Leadership and Character Council at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem NC). [6] Shefali is also a Creative Artists Agency (CAA) speaker. [7]

Early life and education

A Kashmiri Pandit born in Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh (present day Uttarakhand), Razdan Duggal moved to the United States at the age of two and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was raised by a single mom, who worked two minimum wage jobs to support the family, working hard as a seamstress during the day and cutting vegetables at the local grocery store in the evening. Shefali became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 16, 1990. Ambassador Razdan Duggal holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication, with a minor in Political Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, [8] and a Master of Arts degree in Media Ecology from New York University. [9] She also received an honorary doctorate from Miami University. [10]

Career

Razdan Duggal began her career in politics volunteering for the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the New Hampshire Democratic Party before moving on to volunteer for Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator Dianne Feinstein. [11] Razdan Duggal started her work in presidential campaigns with the Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign, where she was a volunteer and at-large delegate representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Following the 2000 United States presidential election, she worked for Staton Hughes, a political strategy firm, as a Political Analyst and also became a graduate of Emerge America, a political leadership training program for Democratic women. [12]

After a brief hiatus from political activity, Razdan Duggal returned to politics by participating in outreach and fundraising efforts for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. She was involved with Women for Hillary and served on the Northern California Steering Committee. [13] Following Clinton’s loss in the Democratic primaries, Razdan Duggal joined Barack Obama’s campaign as a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee.

While working with President Obama’s campaign, she also supported Kamala Harris’s successful bid for California Attorney General and later served on Harris’s transition team. [14]

During the 2012 United States presidential election, Razdan Duggal worked for the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign as part of the National Finance Committee, an Obama Victory Trustees Co-Chair, and a Northern California Finance Committee Member. During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Shefali was a member of the Credentials Standing Committee and an at-large delegate representing the state of California. [15]

Razdan Duggal was a National Finance Committee member for the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Razdan Duggal was a member of the Rules Standing Committee. [16] She was mentioned in a New York Times article in 2016 as some of her emails were included in the 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak that were released by WikiLeaks. [17]

During the 2020 United States presidential election, Razdan Duggal worked on the National Finance Committee of the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and as a National Co-Chair of Women for Biden. [18] She was a Vice Chair of the Credentials Standing Committee [19] and an at-large delegate representing the state of California at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

United States ambassador to the Netherlands

Razdan Duggal with members of the 118th Congress. Ambassador Shefali Razdan Duggal welcomes U.S. Congressional Delegation to the U.S. Embassy The Hague.jpg
Razdan Duggal with members of the 118th Congress.

On March 11, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Razdan Duggal to be the United States ambassador to the Netherlands. [20] The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings on her nomination on July 28, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor on August 3, 2022, and it was approved by the full Senate on September 14, 2022. [21]

She was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands on September 20, 2022, [9] and presented her credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander on October 19, 2022. [22] [23]

She is the first person of color to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Shefali is currently a member of the Council of American Ambassadors, [9] Foreign Policy for America, Meridian International Center and a Board Member of the Netherlands America Foundation. [24] On International Women's Day, March 8, 2024, the Dutch honored her by naming a fuchsia pink tulip after her (the "Tulipa Shefali") making her the first ambassador to the Netherlands, from any country, to receive such a tribute. [25] That same year, she was nominated for the U.S. Department of State’s Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service for her work representing the United States in the Netherlands—the first U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands to receive this nomination. [10]

Affiliations

Personal life

Ambassador Razdan Duggal lives in San Francisco and is married to Rajat Duggal. She has two adult children. [33]

References

  1. ↑ "About Shefali Razdan Duggal".
  2. ↑ "President Obama Announces New Appointee to United States Holocaust Memorial Council — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". www.ushmm.org. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  3. ↑ "Board of Directors". www.emilyslist.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  4. ↑ "Shefali Razdan Duggal". Revolving Door Project. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  5. ↑ "Volunteer Fundraisers". Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  6. ↑ "Leadership & Character | Wake Forest University". Leadership and Character. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  7. 1 2 "Shefali Razdan Duggal | Speaking Fee, Booking Agent, & Contact Info | CAA Speakers". Shefali Razdan Duggal | Speaking Fee, Booking Agent, & Contact Info | CAA Speakers. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  8. ↑ "Shefali Razdan Duggal '93". www.givetomiamioh.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  9. 1 2 3 Netherlands, U. S. Mission (2022-10-17). "U.S. Ambassador-Designate Shefali Razdan Duggal to Present Credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander". U.S. Embassy And Consulate General In The Netherlands. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  10. 1 2 "MJF hosting its annual Distinguished Alumni Days on April 7 and 8". Miami University. 2025-03-24. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  11. ↑ "Indian-American Shefali Razdan Duggal 'most powerful' woman in California". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  12. ↑ "Shefali Razdan Duggal". Emerge California. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  13. ↑ "Indian American Leadership Initiative". salsa.wiredforchange.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  14. ↑ "Kamala Harris' Senate Bid Excites California's Indian Americans". NBC News. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  15. ↑ West, India (2016-01-28). "Four Indian American Leaders Nominated to Posts for 2016 Democratic Convention". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  16. ↑ "Four PIOs nominated to Democratic Convention Standing Committees". The Hindu. PTI. 2016-01-23. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  17. ↑ Confessore, Nicholas; Eder, Steve (2016-07-25). "In Hacked D.N.C. Emails, a Glimpse of How Big Money Works (Published 2016)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  18. ↑ "Women for Biden". Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  19. ↑ "2020 Democratic National Convention, standing committees, credentials, platform, rules". www.democracyinaction.us. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  20. ↑ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  21. ↑ "PN1866 - Nomination of Shefali Razdan Duggal for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  22. ↑ @usambnl (21 October 2022). "Ambassador Shefali Razdan Duggal met with King Willem-Alexander to present her credentials as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands on Wednesday, October 19" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ "U.S. Ambassador-Designate Shefali Razdan Duggal to Present Credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander". nl.usembassy.gov. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  24. 1 2 "Ambassador Shefali Razdan Duggal - Naf.. The Netherland-American Foundation". thenaf.org. 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  25. ↑ Magazine, Diplomat (2024-03-11). "American Ambassador Baptizes Sustainable Tulip Shefali On International Women's Day". Diplomat magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  26. ↑ "Shefali Razdan Duggal". Revolving Door Project. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  27. ↑ "Board of Directors". www.emilyslist.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  28. ↑ "Board of Directors". Human Rights First. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  29. ↑ "San Francisco Committee". Human Rights Watch. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  30. ↑ "Miami University announces new "Miami in DC" Alumni Advisory Board". www.miamialum.org. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  31. ↑ "President Obama Announces New Appointee to United States Holocaust Memorial Council — United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". www.ushmm.org. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  32. ↑ "Leadership & Character | Wake Forest University". Leadership and Character. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  33. ↑ Walia, Nona. "Pray, eat, love say these three ladies - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to the Netherlands
2022–present		Incumbent
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