Shehrbano "Sherry" Rehman (or Shahrbano Rahman, Urdu: شہر بانو رحمان; December 21, 1960), is a Pakistani political journalist and diplomat.
Rehman was appointed the Pakistan's Ambassador to the US on November 2011 succeeding Husain Haqqani. Previously, she was the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting from March 2008 until March 2009.
Biography
Born in Karachi, Sindh, to a prominent Sindhi family, Rehman's father was a lawyer & educator. Her mother served as vice president of the State Bank of Pakistan, the first woman to hold the post. She attended Smith College and the University of Sussex where she studied art history and political science.
Sherry Rehman practiced as a professional journalist for twenty years, writing for national and international newspapers and newsmagazines. She was Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan’s leading newsmagazine, The Herald (Pakistan), for ten years and served as a member of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) from 1988-1998. She also anchored a television show on current affairs in 1999[citation needed].
Sherry Rehman was the first Pakistani to be recognized with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony 2002.
Sherry Rehman is married to banker Nadeem Hussain who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tameer Microfinance Bank.
political career
Rehman is member of the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians(PPPP)
She served as an Member of National Assembly (MNA) from 2002 to 2007, where she acted as Central Information Secretary. During this time she was also President of Policy Planning for the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and served on the Foreign Relations Committee in the PPP.[2]
In March 2008 Sherry Rehman was re-appointed by declaration as MNA from Sindh province to the reserved MNA seat for women.Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani appointed her Minister for Information & Broadcasting. On March 31, 2008 she was sworn in by President Pervez Musharraf.[3]
During her tenure in parliament, Sherry Rehman authored all five PPP bills tabled in the National Assembly: Women Empowerment Bill, Anti-Honor Killings Bill, Domestic Violence Prevention Bill, Affirmative Action Bill and Hudood Repeal Bill. She also moved two Bills for the Media: the Freedom of Information Bill and the Press Act, which prevents working journalists from being arrested under the 1999 Press Ordinance.[4]
In civil society, Sherry Rehman is the Chair of the Lady Dufferin Foundation Trust, reportedly the largest non-profit provider of women and children’s subsidized health-care in the province of Sindh.[5]
In January 2009 a report of the International Republican Institute referred to her as "Democracy's Hero" as a result of her close association with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's campaign for democratic rule in Pakistan.[6] The reference, picked up by several Pakistani media outlets, received mixed coverage.[7][8] Also January 2009, Rehman was named among the "100 Most Influential Asians" by UAE magazine Ahlan.[9]
Sherry Rehman has been appointed Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States. This appointment comes after Husain Haqqani was asked to resign by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in the wake of the Memogate scandal.[10]
[edit] Resignation as Federal Minister of Information
Ms Sherry Rehman resigned her post as Federal Information Minister on Saturday, March 14, 2009, due to differences of opinion with the President Asif Ali Zardari on imposing restrictions on the media.[11][12]
On November 23rd, she was named Pakistan's ambassador to United States following the resignation of Hussain Haqqani[13].
[edit] Published work
Rehman's latest book "The Kashmiri Shawl: From Jamawar to Paisley", co-authored with Naheed Jafri, was published in 2006 by Mapin Publishing India and Antique Collectors Club UK. The book was selected for The R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award for 2006[14] in the US.
Awards
2002: Sherry Rehman was the first Pakistani to be recognized with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony in the year 2002.
2006: R.L Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award, The Kashmiri Shawl
2009: The title of 'Democracy's Hero' by the International Republican Institute for her services to the restoration of democracy.
2011:Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award by The Women’s Democracy Network (WDN), Washington
2008: was presented the International Peace Award for Democrats by the Human Rights Commission.
2009: was presented 'The Freedom Award' Pakistan by the Association of Television Journalists for her work for media independence in Pakistan.
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