34 Facts About Robin Raphel

Robin Lynn Raphel was born on 1947 and is an American former diplomat, ambassador, CIA analyst, lobbyist, and an expert on Pakistan affairs.

Robin Raphel later served as US Ambassador to Tunisia from November 7,1997 to August 6,2000, during Clinton's second term in office.

Robin Raphel retired from the State Department in 2005 after 30 years of service.

Robin Raphel returned to the State Department in 2009 as a senior adviser on Pakistan under Richard Holbrooke, during the tenure of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Robin Raphel refused the plea deal, and in March 2016, the Justice Department declined to file charges against her.

Robin Raphel Lynn Johnson was born in Vancouver, Washington in 1947 to Vera and Donald Johnson, a manager of an aluminum plant.

Robin Raphel has two sisters, Karen Freeze and Deborah Johnson.

Robin Raphel graduated from high school in Longview, Washington in 1965.

Robin Raphel earned her master's degree in economics from the University of Maryland.

Robin Raphel began her career in the US government as an analyst at the CIA after graduating with her master's degree.

In 1978, Robin Raphel returned to the United States and joined the State Department.

Robin Raphel would take on a range of assignments for the next decade, including posts in London, until she was appointed as Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa in 1988.

At the State Department, Robin Raphel tried to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan by engaging both countries in a negotiated solution to their Kashmir dispute.

Robin Raphel left the State Department's South Asia section in late June 1997.

Robin Raphel was one of the first senior American officials to meet personally with Taliban.

Robin Raphel spoke in favor of the pipeline project on trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan in April and August 1996.

Robin Raphel's meeting with Taliban leaders in 1996 to advocate for a pipeline project earned her the sobriquet "Lady Taliban" in the Indian press.

Robin Raphel took part in the State Department's establishment of diplomatic relations with the Taliban shortly after its takeover of Kabul in 1996.

Robin Raphel entered her State Department assignment at a time when US-Pakistan relations were strained.

Also in the 1990s, Indian officials who had tapped Robin Raphel's phone learned that she had favored a UN resolution condemning India's actions in Kashmir, but was overruled by 'higher-ups.

In November 1997, Robin Raphel was appointed as United States Ambassador to Tunisia.

When Robin Raphel was ambassador, Stuart Eizenstat, the Undersecretary of State for Economics, Business and Agriculture, proposed a new initiative to liberalize trade further with Tunisia.

Robin Raphel witnessed the rise in political power of Tunisia's opposition as Abidine's administration reserved 20 percent of Parliament's seats for opposition candidates for the first time since he came to power.

Robin Raphel served her full term and left in August 2000.

Robin Raphel was Senior Vice President at the National Defense University in Washington from 2000 until 2003.

Robin Raphel continued her role at Cassidy, lobbying for other international clients who included Bangladeshi politician Anwar Hossain Manju and the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, according The Hill.

In 2009, Robin Raphel joined the Afghanistan-Pakistan task force known as AfPak, joining the late Richard Holbrooke, US Special Representative for the region.

Robin Raphel's focus was to allocate US resources committed under the proposed Kerry-Lugar Bill.

Robin Raphel's responsibilities included oversight of spending for law enforcement, improvements in Pakistan's judicial system and education programs to raise the country's literacy standards.

Robin Raphel worked with USAID in a number of Pakistan's border areas in particular to distribute non-military assistance.

In February 2013, the FBI began investigating Robin Raphel, based on an intercepted conversation of a Pakistani official that raised suspicions Robin Raphel might have provided secrets to the Pakistani government.

Robin Raphel first learned of the investigation nearly two years after it began, on Oct 21,2014, when she encountered FBI agents searching her home.

The FBI, having found no evidence that Robin Raphel was spying or that she had illegally shared classified information, repeatedly pressed Robin Raphel, as the price of ending their investigation, to plead guilty to mishandling classified information: the 20-year-old files found in her basement.

In 1972, Robin Raphel married Arnold Lewis Robin Raphel, later Ambassador to Pakistan, in Tehran.