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Johns Hopkins SAIS to host “Service, Selflessness, and Commitment: A Conversation with Dr. Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan,” November 12 via video teleconference in Washington, DC

MEDIA ADVISORY
 
“Service, Selflessness, and Commitment: A Conversation with Dr. Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan” will be hosted at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The event is presented by the Dean’s Forum in partnership with the Strategic Studies Speaker Series.
 
His Excellency President Ashraf Ghani will speak via video teleconference about the challenges of coalition-Afghan security cooperation and the future of the partnership. The Finance Minister of Afghanistan, Dr. Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi, will also attend the speaker series as well as partake in a panel discussion with assembled faculty.
 
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Ashraf Ghani
President of Afghanistan
 
Distinguished Guest
Dr. Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi
Afghanistan Minister of Finance; Chief Adviser for President Ghani in Infrastructure, Human Capital, and Technology
 
Introduction
LTG (Retd). David W. Barno
Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies and Senior Fellow at the Phillip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies
 
Moderator
Vali Nasr
Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS
 
Time and Date
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Monday, November 12, 2018
 
Location
Johns Hopkins SAIS
Kenney Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
 
Registration
The event is open to the public and media, with registration. Members of the working press can request to cover the event by selecting "Media" on the online registration form. Final media access will be confirmed at least one day prior to the event. Pre-authorized camera setup will only be permitted from 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Media Contact
Nate Thompson
Johns Hopkins University SAIS
+1 (202) 587-3251 office
+1 (202) 360-3039 mobile
[email protected]
 
About the Speaker
President Ashraf Ghani grew up in the Logar Province of Afghanistan. After graduating from high school in Kabul, he attended the American University in Beirut where he obtained a Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology. He would go on to obtain a Masters in Anthropology from Columbia University. However, at the conclusion of his studies in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded his country and President Ghani was unable to return home due to fears of persecution. Instead, President Ghani would continue his studies by earning his PhD at Columbia University in 1983. Upon graduation, he would join the faculty of various universities including The Johns Hopkins University from 1983 to 1991. Around the time the Soviet Union collapsed, President Ghani joined the World Bank as a lead Anthropologist where he would remain for over a decade. President Ghani’s work at the World Bank took him across the world but in 2001, he returned to Afghanistan as the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General’s envoy to Afghanistan. In that role, President Ghani helped negotiate and implement the Bonn Agreement which created a roadmap to a new government based on democratic principles. As a result of contributions in creating the new Afghan government, President Ghani was appointed Minister of Finance under President Hamid Karzai. In this role, he modernized Afghanistan’s finances and helped tackle corruption. Due to the connections President Ghani made while working at the World Bank, he became instrumental in establishing an international donor base and was awarded the Sayed Jamal-ud-Din Afghan medal, the highest civilian award in Afghanistan. In 2004, President Ghani stepped down from his role as Minister of Finance and became the Chancellor of Kabul University where he founded the Institute for State Effectiveness with the objective of helping governments become more effective accountable in carrying out policy. At the same time, he coauthored the book Fixing Failed States. After an unsuccessful election bid in 2009, President Ghani would become the chairman of the Transition Coordination Council which was tasked with transferring security operations from the INSF to Afghan security forces. In 2014, he successfully ran again for president and was sworn in on September 29, 2014.
 
About the Distinguished Guest
Dr. Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from the American University in Beirut. Dr. Qayoumi would go on to obtain four advanced degrees from the University of Cincinnati including: a Master’s in Nuclear engineering, a Master’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, an MBA in Finance, and a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Since leaving academia, Dr. Qayoumi has published eight books, over one hundred articles, and worked on major infrastructure projects around the world. In recognition for his contributions to the engineering field, Dr. Qayoumi is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, an APPA Fellow and the recipient of two APPA Meritorious Awards, an inductee into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame, as well as having served on several board of directors including KQED, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, The Bay Area Council, The Bay Area Council Economic Institute, and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. In 2006, Dr. Qayoumi became the President of California State University East Bay and would continue on his career in academia as President of San Jose State University in 2011 where he would remain until he joined the Afghan government in 2015.
 
About the Moderator
LTG David W. Barno, USA (Retd) is a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the School of International Service at American University and a Contributing Editor at War on the Rocks, where he co-authors the Strategic Outpost column. He is also an adjunct staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses and a member of DOD's Reserve Forces Policy Board. Lt. Gen. Barno was the senior American commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2003–2005. Subsequently, he served as the Director of DOD's Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies and later as a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He publishes and speaks on national security topics regularly and has testified before Congress numerous times. Barno is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds a MA in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.
 
About Johns Hopkins SAIS
A division of Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues. For 75 years, Johns Hopkins SAIS has produced great leaders, thinkers, and practitioners of international relations. Public leaders and private sector executives alike seek the counsel of the faculty, whose ideas and research inform and shape policy. Johns Hopkins SAIS offers a global perspective across three campus locations: Bologna, Italy; Nanjing, China; and Washington, D.C. The school's interdisciplinary curriculum is strongly rooted in the study of international economics, international relations, and regional studies, preparing students to address multifaceted challenges in the world today.
 
For more information, visit sais-jhu.edu or @SAISHopkins
 
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Date: 
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Press Release Type: