From Refugee to DiplomatThey fled. Then they came back to serve.
Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa

Sulaiman Toghral: From Afghanistan to American Diplomacy

Left Taliban-ruled Afghanistan at nine and, as a U.S. diplomat, helped process Afghan evacuees in 2021.

Fled
Afghanistan
Status
Political refugee
Arrived in the U.S.
1999
Service
Foreign Service Officer; 2016 Rangel Fellow
Region
Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa

Sulaiman Toghral's family left Afghanistan for Fairfax, Virginia, in 1999, when he was about nine, because of the Taliban. He went from community college to George Mason University and was named a Rangel Fellow in 2016.

As a Foreign Service Officer, he served on the team in Abu Dhabi that processed and supported Afghans evacuated in 2021. The Rangel Program described his work there as a career come full circle for a political refugee from Afghanistan.

Read the history behind this story on the Afghanistan page, or browse all the diplomats.

Sources