Syed Tariq Fatemi (Urdu: طارق فاطمى ; Bengali: তারিক ফাতেমি; born 9 July 1944), is a Pakistani diplomat who most recently served as Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif till the government completed its term. He previously served as Pakistan Ambassador to the United States and to the European Union.^[1][2][3]

Quick Facts Ambassador, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs ...

Ambassador Tariq Fatemi
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 7 June 2013 – 28 July 2017
President	Mamnoon Hussain
Prime Minister	Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by	Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
In office 8 September 1999 – 16 December 1999
Preceded by	Riaz Khokhar
Succeeded by	Maliha Lodhi
Personal details
Born	Syed Tariq Fatemi (1944-07-09) 9 July 1944 (age 79) Dacca, East Bengal, British Indian Empire Present-day Bangladesh
Nationality	Pakistani Bengali
Political party	Pakistan Muslim League (N)
Spouse	Zahra Wadood Fatemi
Alma mater	University of Dhaka Punjab University Moscow State University
Occupation	Diplomat

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Born in Dhaka, British India, Fatemi went on to serve as a career foreign service officer and has held diplomatic missions throughout his career.^[4] In addition, he also provided his foreign policy expertise to represent Pakistan's case at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Aside from foreign service, he has briefly taught courses on International relations at the Foreign Service Academy and as well as courses on Security studies at the National Defence University and the Quaid-i-Azam University. A key member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), he is the author of the book, "The Future of Pakistan", and has repeatedly appeared in news media to comment on foreign affairs of the country.^[4] He is an expert on Russian studies and is fluent in Russian language.^[3]

Controversy surrounded him during Nawaz Sharif's tenure.^{[citation needed]}

His career as a Pakistani diplomat is enriched with assignments in Pakistan Missions abroad, including New York, Moscow (twice), Beijing and Washington (twice). He served as Additional Foreign Secretary (Americas and Europe Divisions) and worked in the Prime Minister's Office, in charge of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Defense Production.^[3]

From 1982 to 1986, he served as the delegate to the UN General Assembly Sessions and attended several Non-Aligned and OIC Conferences, while being the member of the UN-sponsored Geneva negotiations on Afghanistan.

In 1999, Fatemi was promoted to the rank of a Federal Secretary—the highest rank in the country's civil service.^[3]

He also served as the High Commissioner (Ambassador) of Pakistan to Zimbabwe and later served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the US, Jordan, Belgium, Luxembourg and then to European Union (Brussels) and retired in 2004.^[3]

After his retirement, he joined the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and assisted the party on various foreign policy matters.

In April 2017, the Prime Minister's Office issued directives to remove Fatemi from his post as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, for his alleged role in Dawn Leaks.^[5] Earlier, an inquiry committee had held Fatemi responsible for the Dawn Leaks.^[6] The allegation was rejected by Fatemi in a farewell letter.^[7]

On 20 April 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Syed Tariq Fatemi as his special assistant on foreign affairs.^[8]