Uzra Zeya

Uzra Zeya joined Human Rights First (HRF) as President and CEO in April 2025. In this role, she leads HRF efforts to advance human rights for all, defend democracy at home and abroad, uphold the rule of law, and protect vulnerable populations fleeing oppression.

As U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights from July 2021 to January 2025, she led global U.S. diplomacy to advance human rights, strengthen rule of law, support refugees, elevate the fight against corruption, and combat transnational crime and human trafficking from 2021-25. Concurrently, she was U.S. special coordinator for Tibetan issues, rallying international partners to support Tibetans’ human rights and preserve their unique identity.

As president and CEO of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, she led a non-partisan network of 150+ organizations working on peaceful conflict resolution in 180+ countries. Her distinguished diplomatic career included senior roles at U.S. embassies in France and India, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and advising Secretaries of State Rice and Clinton. She also served in Syria, Egypt, Oman, and Jamaica, and speaks French, Arabic, and Spanish.

Zeya co-authored a 2021 Council on Foreign Relations report that shaped State
Department modernization. She is on the University of Notre Dame Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies Board of Advisors. She was awarded the French Legion d’Honneur and the Cross of Commander of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in recognition of her contributions to a more just and peaceful world.