17 Facts About Marion Naifeh

Marion Carolyn Naifeh was an American author and educator who, with her husband, the late diplomat George Naifeh, represented the United States in diplomatic missions in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia over nearly three decades.

Marion Naifeh was born to missionary parents in Wuhu, China, in 1928.

Marion Naifeh's mother died soon after giving birth to her daughter, who was raised by two servants in her missionary household.

Marion Naifeh graduated from Classical High School in Worcester in 1945 and entered Wheaton College the following year.

Marion Naifeh participated in the first year of the Smith Junior Year Abroad Program, spending a year in Puebla and in Mexico City, where she attended the Colegio de Mexico.

Marion Naifeh entered the Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1949 to study International Economics, graduating with a master's degree in 1950.

On February 3,1951, Marion Naifeh married fellow-SAIS student George Marion Naifeh, and soon thereafter the couple moved to their first diplomatic post in Meshed, Iran.

Marion Naifeh's father told her from an early age that he wanted her to become a teacher, advice which she was initially determined to ignore.

Nevertheless, Marion Naifeh enjoyed a productive career teaching in several different kinds of schools, across four continents, throughout more than six decades.

Marion Naifeh taught literacy classes in Lagos, Nigeria, and writing in a GED program in Gloverville, South Carolina.

In Meshed, Iran, Marion Naifeh worked as assistant to the American consul.

Marion and George Naifeh moved to the capital city of Tehran, where she worked in the visa section and he served as the radio officer.

Marion Naifeh's husband served as public affairs officer, both in Baida and eventually in the nearby city of Benghazi.

Four years later they moved to their last post, Amman, Jordan, not far from Ajlun, the Jordanian town where Marion Naifeh's father-in-law was born, before emigrating to the United States at age 10.

Marion Naifeh was accustomed to a tumultuous life marked by frequent moves.

Marion and George Naifeh returned to the United States for good in 1980, moving to Washington, DC, where George cofounded the American-Arab Affairs Council, later renamed the Middle East Policy Council.

Marion Naifeh died at her son's home in Aiken, South Carolina on May 20,2023, at the age of 95.