Yousif Ghafari

Last updated
Yousif B. Ghafari
Youssef Ghafari atWSU.jpg
United States Ambassador to Slovenia
In office
May 29, 2008 January 20, 2009
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Thomas Bolling Robertson
Succeeded by Joseph A. Mussomeli
Personal details
Born (1952-09-27) September 27, 1952 (age 68)
Alma El-Chaab, Lebanon
Political party Republican
Profession Diplomat

Yousif Boutrous Ghafari (sometimes Youssef B. Ghafari, born September 27, 1952 [1] ) is an American businessman of Lebanese birth, owner of architectural firm Ghafari Associates LLC, [2] former United States Ambassador to Slovenia. [3] During the Senate confirmation hearings, then-Senator Barack Obama called Ghafari "an immigrant who has truly lived the American dream." [4]

Born in Alma El-Chaab, Lebanon, "in a home with no electricity, phone or running water," Ghafari moved to the United States in 1972. [5] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics in 1974, a Master of Arts in Applied Mathematics and Computer Applications in 1975, and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1977, from Wayne State University. [6]

In 2004 and 2005, Ghafari was a public delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. [7]

His alma mater named one of its residence halls in his honor after he donated $9 million to the school. [8] The school gave him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on May 3, 2008. [9] He was notified of the degree the same week the Senate confirmed his ambassadorship. [10]

A significant donor to the Republican party, [11] Ghafari is considered one of "the active, vocal and successful Republican leaders of the Michigan Arab-American community." [12]

On May 25, 2008, Ghafari presented his diplomatic credentials to Dimitrij Rupel in Ljubljana. He was received by Slovenian President Danilo Türk on May 29. He climbed Mount Triglav, making him "an honorary Slovenian." [13] On January 20, 2009, when Barack Obama was sworn in as U. S. President, Ghafari's term ended.

Related Research Articles

Dearborn, Michigan City in Michigan, United States

Dearborn is a city in the State of Michigan. It is located in Wayne County and is part of the Detroit metropolitan area. Dearborn is the eighth largest city in the State of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 98,153 and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per capita. First settled in the late 18th century by ethnic French farmers in a series of ribbon farms along the Rouge River and the Sauk Trail, the community grew in the 19th century with the establishment of the Detroit Arsenal on the Chicago Road linking Detroit and Chicago. In the 20th century, it developed as a major manufacturing hub for the automotive industry.

Wayne State University American university in Detroit, Michigan

Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to more than 26,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Wayne State University, along with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, compose the University Research Corridor of Michigan. Wayne State is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

Jennifer Granholm American politician

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-American politician, lawyer, educator, author, and political commentator serving as the 16th United States Secretary of Energy. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 47th governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011. She was the first woman to serve as Michigan's governor, and she earlier served as attorney general of Michigan.

David Bonior American politician

David Edward Bonior is an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Democrats were in both the majority (1991–1995) and minority (1995–2002), making Bonior the third and second highest-ranking Democrat in the House, respectively.

Thomas Sugrue American historian (born 1962)

Thomas J. Sugrue is an American historian of the 20th-century United States at New York University. From 1991 to 2015, he was the David Boies Professor of History and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and founding director of the Penn Social Science and Policy Forum. His areas of expertise include American urban history, American political history, housing and the history of race relations. He has published extensively on the history of liberalism and conservatism, on housing and real estate, on poverty and public policy, on civil rights, and on the history of affirmative action.

Douglas Kmiec

Douglas William Kmiec is an American legal scholar, author, and former U.S. ambassador. He is the Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University School of Law. Kmiec came to prominence during the 2008 United States presidential election when, although a Republican, he endorsed Democrat Barack Obama. In July 2009, he was nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Malta. He was confirmed by the Senate and served for close to two years as ambassador to Malta. He resigned his post effective May 31, 2011.

Debbie Schlussel is an American attorney, author, political commentator, movie critic, TV host, and blogger. She has been published in the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, and The Jerusalem Post, among others. She is the host of #NoFilter With Debbie on BEK News Channel.

2008 Michigan Democratic presidential primary Political election

The 2008 Michigan Democratic presidential primary took place January 15, 2008. Originally, the state had 156 delegates up for grabs that were to be awarded in the following way: 83 delegates were to be awarded based on the winner in each of Michigan's 15 congressional districts while an additional 45 delegates were to be awarded to the statewide winner. Twenty-eight unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, were initially able to cast their votes at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Slovenia–United States relations Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Slovenia and the United States of America

Slovenia–United States relations are bilateral relations between Slovenia and the United States. The U.S. has maintained an official presence in Slovenia since the early 1970s, when the United States Information Agency (USIS) opened a library and American press and cultural center in Ljubljana. From its opening through 1992, the American Center worked to develop closer grassroots relations between the United States and the people of the then-Socialist Republic of Slovenia, a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On December 23, 1990, the Slovene people voted in a plebiscite to separate from greater Yugoslavia. On June 25, 1991, the new Republic of Slovenia officially declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A 10-day war commenced, during which Slovenian territorial troops fought off incursions by the Yugoslav People's Army. The United States formally recognized the new republic on April 7, 1992. To develop U.S. diplomatic relations with the new state, the United States opened a new Embassy in Ljubljana in August 1992. From the departure of Yousif Ghafari in January 2009 till November 2010, the U.S. Ambassador position was vacant. From November 2010 to 2015 it was held by Joseph A. Mussomeli.

Santa Fe Apartments United States historic place

The Santa Fe Apartments were an apartment building located in Detroit, Michigan. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and subsequently demolished by Wayne State University; the site is now the location of the Yousif B. Ghafari Hall.

Rima Fakih Lebanese-American philanthropist and former Miss USA

Rima Fakih Slaiby is a Lebanese-American philanthropist, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2010. Having previously been crowned Miss Michigan USA 2010, Fakih was the first Arab American woman and the third woman from Michigan to win the Miss USA title.

2008 United States presidential election in Michigan Election in Michigan

The 2008 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 4, 2008. It was part of the 2008 United States presidential election which happened throughout all 50 states and D.C.. Voters chose 17 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

2012 United States presidential election in Michigan Election in Michigan

The 2012 United States presidential election in Michigan took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Voters chose 16 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

History of the Middle Eastern people in Metro Detroit Aspect of history

In 2004, Metro Detroit had one of the largest settlements of Middle Eastern people, including Arabs, Chaldo-Assyrians, and Jews, in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeastern Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese people who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, and of more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. In 2010 the four Metro Detroit counties had at least 200,000 people of Middle Eastern origin, excluding Jews. Bobby Ghosh of TIME said that some estimates gave much larger numbers. From 1990 to 2000 the percentage of people speaking Arabic in the home increased by 106% in Wayne County, 99.5% in Macomb County, and 41% in Oakland County.

Dwight L. Bush Sr.

Dwight Lamar Bush Sr. is an American businessman who was the United States Ambassador to Morocco from 2014 to 2017.

Fayrouz Saad is an American public official and politician. She is the Executive Director of the Office of Global Michigan, and was the first Director of Detroit's Office of Immigrant affairs under Mayor Mike Duggan.

Abraham Aiyash is an American politician and activist serving as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 4th district. The district covers much of Detroit's Midtown, New Center, North End, Boston Edison, Virginia Park, and all of the city of Hamtramck.

Anan Ameri is an Arab American museum director.

References

  1. Ambassador's biography, U. S. Embassy in Slovenia website
  2. Marion Ringe, "Diplomatic warrior" Wayne State: The Magazine for Members of the Wayne State University Alumni Association 2008 Vol 22, No. 3, p. 33
  3. Kathleen Gray, "Businessman in line to be U.S. ambassador" Detroit Free Press April 15, 2008
  4. Clive Leviev-Sawyer, "Barack Obama warns on crime and corruption in Bulgaria" SofiaEcho.com, April 9, 2008. Accessed May 5, 2008.
  5. Alex P. Kellogg, "Bloomfield Hills man becomes Slovenia ambassador" Detroit Free Press May 27, 2008.
  6. '" exchanges.state.gov. Accessed August 6, 2008.
  7. Kellogg, ibid.
  8. Tom Sakely, "Wayne State names residence hall for benefactor Yousif B. Ghafari", Wayne State University press release, October 25, 2005. Accessed May 3, 2008.
  9. Tom Sakely, "Wayne State University commencement ceremonies set for Saturday, May 3, at Tom Adams Field on campus" Wayne State University press release, April 28, 2008.
  10. Shawn Wright, "Harwell, Ghafari awarded Doctor of Laws degrees," The South End May 7–13, 2008, p. 3
  11. Gray (2008), ibid. "Ghafari has been a loyal Republican donor, giving nearly $340,000 almost exclusively to GOP candidates and causes during the last 10 years."
  12. Ismael Ahmed, "Michigan Arab Americans: A Case Study of Electoral and Non-Electoral Empowerment" in American Arabs and Political Participation , Proceedings of a Conference sponsored by the Division of United States Studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, May 5, 2006, ed. Phillipa Strum. Accessed May 5, 2008. (2006): 48
  13. Sydney Redigan, "Ghafari returns after 9 months as ambassador" Exemplar (Detroit, Michigan) April 2009, p. 68
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Thomas Bolling Robertson
United States Ambassador to Slovenia
2008–2009
Succeeded by
Joseph A. Mussomeli