Ali Ezzatyar

Biography

Ali Levy Ezzatyar is a lawyer and US diplomat. Prior to joining the Foreign Service and the US Agency for International Development, he practiced law at a number of prominent international firms (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Allen & Overy, and Shearman & Sterling), and served as Executive Director of the AMENA Center for Entrepreneurship and Development, at the University of California, Berkeley. He remains a senior advisor to the Center. His first book, The Last Mufti of Iranian Kurdistan: Ethnic and Religious Implications in the Greater Middle East, was published in 2016. His articles on the Middle East have been featured in publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor; he has appeared as an analyst on broadcasts such as the BBC World, Al Jazeera, and NPR, among others.