Ahmad Nadery

Bio

Ahmad Nader Nadery is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center. A recognized leader in peacebuilding, governance reform, and human rights, Nadery has spent over two decades working at the highest levels of law, policy, and international diplomacy.

Most recently, Nadery served as a member of the Peace Negotiation Team for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during the 2020–2021 Doha peace talks. In this capacity, he negotiated critical constitutional and human rights frameworks, engaging directly with Taliban leadership in efforts to secure a political settlement.

Prior to his negotiating role, Nadery served as Chairman of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC). He led one of the country's most significant institutional overhauls, spearheading a massive digitization and anti-corruption initiative that implemented biometric identification systems and introduced merit-based recruitment to modernize the Afghan public sector. He has also served as Senior Advisor to the President on Public and Strategic Affairs, advising on freedom of expression and human rights protection.

A lifelong advocate for the rule of law and Human Rights, Nadery served for seven years as a Commissioner of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). He directed major investigations into war crimes and abuses, becoming a leading voice for transitional justice and the end of impunity. In civil society, he served as Director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), the country's top policy research institute, and founded the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA).

Nadery’s public service dates back to the 2001 UN Bonn Conference, where he represented Afghan youth activists. He subsequently served as the spokesperson for the 2002 Emergency Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly).

He has written extensively on human rights, governance and international relations and appears regularly on major media like WSJ, New York Times, Washington Post, PBS news hour and BBC.

His leadership has been globally recognized; Time Magazine named him an "Asian Hero" in 2005, and the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader in 2008. He is a member of the Board of Editors of the International Journal on Transitional Justice and has led rule of law missions in post-revolution Libya.

Nadery holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Political Science from Kabul University. He also studied leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.