From Nina Ansary's website: Born in Tehran, Iran, Nina Ansary left her country of birth at the onset of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and has not returned since.
Growing up in New York City, she received her B.A. in Sociology from Barnard College and her M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University. In 2013, Nina received her PhD in History from Columbia University.
In 1996, Ansary moved to Los Angeles, and following her family’s long and distinguished record, began to pursue her passion for humanitarian causes. As an avid philanthropist, she serves on the Middle East Institute Advisory Board at Columbia University, on Columbia University’s Global Leadership Council, the Board of Trustees of the IAWF (Iranian American Women’s Foundation), and the Board of Trustees of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, where she additionally participates on their Child Safety Committee Task Force.
Nina Ansary is an elected member of the Everychild Foundation and the Pacific Council on International Policy, and a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the National Organization for Women (NOW), and the U.S. National Committee for U.N. Women (USNC) – organizations dedicated to public policy and supporting education, charitable and gender-related causes.
Nina’s upcoming book, The Jewels of Allah (Revela Press, June 25, 2015), was inspired by her scholarly journey and seeks to illuminate the stereotypical assumptions and the often misunderstood story of women in Iran today. The book additionally highlights the accomplishments of powerful female voices in Iran’s past and present and exposes the concealed components leading to a full-blown feminist movement within a post-revolutionary patriarchal society.
Since establishing a social media presence in March 2014, Nina’s work has found support in a rapidly growing fan base of over 160,000 journalists, feminists, politicians, scholars, filmmakers, women and men of all ages, from diverse religions and backgrounds, who have joined her Facebook and Twitter platform to share, discuss, and promote the accomplishments of Iranian women. Nina is a regular contributor to the Daily Beast, the Huffington Post and Women’s eNews, an award-winning news website which recently honored her as one of the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century. She is one of the Top Influencers on Iran on Twitter.
For more information, Nina can be found on Twitter @drninaansary or on facebook.com/ninaansary.
Hmm ...
A slightly different biography here ...
Busy behind the scenes | Iranian.com ( Dated 28-Mar-2008 )
Spotlight: Houshang Ansari By: Sohrab Ferdows
William Sullivan in his book, "Mission to Iran" says, when in 1978 in a private party at his residence in Tehran, where a group of high ranking Iranian government officials, senators and MPs had attended, he spoke about "time for changing things in Iran" all the guests spoke against it at the dinner table and defended how the Shah was handling everything greatly! Later when guests were leaving the house and Mr. Sullivan was accompanying them to the door one by one, many of the same people expressed their agreement with "need for change" privately and quietly at the door! From those, Sullivan remembers the first who expressed such agreement who was a high ranking officer in NIOC and held ministerial positions in the past, without mentioning his name. From description of course, no one fits such figure other than Hushang Ansary, head of NIOC in 1978 and former minister of economy and finance.
Later in the same year, the infamous "list" of names of the people who had taken money out of the country was secretly circulated by National Bank staff with the name of Mr. Ansary on top with the figure of about 500 million! We now know that the list was wrong about many of the names mentioned in there but when we look at the financial activities of Mr. Ansary, one can not help but to remember the list! Mr. Hushang Ansary left the country a few months before revolution for "health" reasons when he went to visit Kharg island industrial and oil exporting facilities. Mr. Ansary moved to United States quietly and kept low key profile for a couple of years until he started his activities in 1982 by starting an investment consultant company named Parman Capital Group. Mr. Hassan-Ali Mehran the former Iranian National Bank director, was his partner in this business with $5 million initial investment.
A few years later In 1987, Parman Group took over "Banco di Caribe" with total asset of about $500 million. And a bit later Mr. Ansary also became the biggest shareholder in Texas-based National Oilwell Inc which had close to $3 billion revenue in year 2007. Later on, National Oilwell Inc was merged with IRI International Corp. which Mr. Ansary and family (Hushang, Shahla, Nina and Nader Ansary) own over 90% of its shares currently. A look at some of National Oilwell trades with the symbol of NOV (NYSE) indicates the volume of wealth which is toyed with by Mr. Ansary in stock market in recent years:
Trading Date -- Name -- Title -- Type Shares -- Traded Price
09/02/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 80,000 $19.17
09/05/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 220,000 $19.30
09/08/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 58,000 $19.65
09/24/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 50,000 $19.00
11/07/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 15,000 $0.00
11/07/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 30,000 $0.00
12/04/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 100,000 $20.59
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 125,000 $0.00
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 40,000 $0.00
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 15,000 $0.00
12/23/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 20,000 $0.00
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 50,000 $32.15
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 18,700 $32.20
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 1,300 $32.21
09/21/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 30,000 $32.00
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 3,900 $32.51
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 8,600 $32.54
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 5,300 $32.55
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 13,600 $32.56
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 11,200 $32.57
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 5,200 $32.58
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 500 $32.59
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 1,700 $32.60
05/05/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 250,000 $27.01
06/21/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 150,000 $30.31
Stewart & Stevenson LLC is another oil related company of Mr. Ansary with close to $1 billion in revenue in year 2006. There is a long list of huge investments and "charity" works ($15 million grant to Weill Cornell Medical College for stem cell research is one of them) in variety of fields in United States which range from education to medial centers, to highly specialized services in oil industry and....etc... etc... Mr. Ansary is also a trustee for Asia Society, a non-profit institution which has been founded by and in operation under leadership of Rockefellers since 1956.
Ansary family have been very good friends with Bush Family since the time they moved to United States and resided in Texas in year 1979. The friendship is so close that at this point, Mr. Ansary is CEO of Bush family trust fund while continuing to maintain very close relationship. Mr. Ansary has also had many generous contributions to presidential campaign for George Bush sr., George Bush jr. and other Republican Party candidates for the House and Senate.
In most of these investments, we can see some familiar names of American famous politicians as Mr. Ansary's partners. Mr. Ansary has a daughter, Nina, and a son, Nader, who both have been given extensive amount of wealth and investment by their good father! Nina Ansary is also a share holder in some of the companies belonging to her father and at the same time running a political organization in the name of Iranians in United States!
The name of this political organization is "Iranian American Political Action Committee" (IAPAC) which in their website declare their mission as follows:
· To support and promote the election of candidates for federal, state and local office, regardless of party affiliation who are attuned to the domestic needs and issues of the Iranian American community
· To support and promote Iranian American candidates for public office
· To support and advance legislation as it affects the concerns of the Iranian American community
· To encourage Iranian Americans to actively participate in the American electoral process
Under FAQ, they make it clear to have no affiliation with Islamic Republic regime and they do not take any position towards US-Iranian relation because it creates division in Iranian community. According to same document, the reason for creating "Iranian-American PAC" is to fill the vacuum of Iranians achievements in the political arena of the United States through financial contributions and supporting Iranian candidates as "The reality of the American political system is that it is dependent on financial contributions".
In another part regarding 2008 US presidential candidates we read:
"IAPAC is a registered bipartisan political action committee that contributes to candidates for public office. IAPAC focuses exclusively on domestic policy issues, such as civil liberties and immigration, and encourages Americans of Iranian descent to actively participate in civic affairs. As a bipartisan organization, IAPAC does not endorse one presidential candidate over another. Instead it focuses on providing information concerning candidate positions on relevant issues affecting the Iranian American community and on harnessing community efforts to support candidates of their own choosing."
In the news section we read: "IAPAC Trustee to Serve as National Finance Chair for Clinton Campaign".
IAPAC Trustee is no one other than Mr. Hassan Namazee who has been also working with John Kerry in 2004 presidential campaign and during President Clinton, he was nominated to become ambassador of United States in Argentina but was declined by the Senate. In year 2004 and during his controversial quarrel with SMCCDI and Mr. Pirooznia, an article appeared in FrontPage Magazine about Mr. Namazee which included some information regarding his connections to different political organizations and lobbying groups. In a part of that article we read:
"Nemazee is an influential figure with many friends in high places in groups such as the American-Iranian Council (AIC), the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and the Iranian-American Bar Association (IABA). Nemazee’s name is also well known in Democratic Party circles. He was a prominent contributor to Bob Torricelli’s New Jersey Senate campaign. The multimillionaire entrepreneur also contributed $50,000 to his friend Al Gore’s Recount Fund (and $250,000 to the Gore campaign), $60,000 to Bill Clinton’s legal defense fund, and over $150,000 to the Democratic National Committee."
In the year 2004, in an article which was published in Iranian.com, Ladan Afrasiabi, a commissioner in "Commission on Globalization" whose positions towards Islamic Republic is close to AIC, wrote:
"IAPAC -- the Iranian American Political Action Committee -- came to existence in 2003 following what seemed to be more of a "coup" inside American Iranian Council, when three of AIC board members, Hassan Nemazee, Akbar Ghahari and Faraj Aaalei collectively resigned from AIC and formed this well funded organization. Tapping into the financial and intellectual wealth of successful Iranians in the US and banking on their political ambitions, IAPAC is claiming to be the voice of the Iranian American diaspora in the US."
As we can see in IAPAC website, board of directors include Mr. Nemazee and also Mrs Nina Ansary, daughter of Hushang Ansary with a lot of stake in Ansary foundation and other companies belonging to Ansary family. Mr Nemazee and Hushang Ansary along with Henry Kissinger are in Asia Society which is an organization created by Rockefellers who also is founder of Trilateral Commission, a world economic entity. Many high ranking politicians from all over the world have been or still are a member of. The list of membership in Trilateral Commission includes both President Carter and President George Bush sr. who used to be head of CIA for a few years before he was fired by Jimmy Carter in 1977 along with a group of a few hundred people who were suspected of being involved in “Watergate scandal”. George Bush sr. was well known among his fellow party members as an extremist and too partisan so that this matter almost caused him to be rejected as Presidential candidate of the party even though he was a member of “world elite” society.
During his candidacy, President Bush sr. was generously supported by his old friend, Mr. Hushang Ansary, his wife and Ansary foundation. Contributions of Mr. Hushang Ansary to Republican party is not limited to Bush sr. as he has made generous contributions for other members of Bush Family. A look at a few item in one of the lists of Mr. Ansary’s contributions may help us understand how wealthy this former minister, ambassador and CEO, under previous Iranian regime is while many other former Iranian officials were either killed or are living a very ordinary life!
See list here:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=Hushang
And here:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=HUSHANG
And here for more recent ones:http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=HUSHANG
According to this source, campaign contributions of Mr. Hushang Ansary for G.W. Bush in 2004 and Nina Ansary in 2008 was 100,000 dollars each under bundlers: http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/index.cfm
“Ansary, a member of the National Finance Committee of the Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign, gave $270,000 to the Republican National Committee, according to federal filings.”
And Mrs. Ansary’s recent contributions:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...y&first=Shahla
Nina Ansary’s contributions:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...ary&first=nina
Nader Ansary’s contributions:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...t=Ansary&st=CA
Frank C. Carlucci who was in board of directors of IRI international corp., one of Ansary’s companies, in his page writes about Hushang Ansary’s campaign contributions:
“Ansary left the country during the turmoil. (Crackdown on Corruption in Iran Could Ensnarl Shah. By By Jonothan C. Randal. The Washington Post, Nov 19, 1978.) Ansary donated at least $100,000 to the Republican National Committee in 1988. “
As we can see, Mr. Asnary, after more than 20 years of end to previous regime in Iran, is still directed as “honorable ambassador” while the symbol of the regime which Mr. Ansary was its “ambassador”, the late Shah himself, was subject of despicable maltreatments and disrespect by Americans and their government and while their propaganda had filled the world with ridiculous exaggerations about late Shah’s wealth. Here it is! Mr. Ansary, a “philanthropist” in United States, takes good care of everything for American friends!
It is very obvious that Mr. Ansary left Iran in 1978 with quite a bit of money in his “pocket” to be able to start his investments in 1982 with a $5 million dollar company and escalate it quickly to hundreds of million dollars, which recently have reached to multi billion dollars! Mr. Ansary’s hobby these days, on the side of “charity work” for his country, the United States of America, and playing with money in stock market, is buying “Islamic artifacts” while his wife Shahla, a housewife, and a close friend of first lady of United States, enjoys a good game of golf with Mrs. Laura Bush whenever she is in Texas. Shahla Ansary apparently is Mr. Ansary’s second wife. His first wife was Mariam Panahi whose father was minister of labor in Iran before he died in 1954. Mariam Panahi’s brother, Faradj who studied in Georgetown U in 1967, was a good friend of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and he was Mr. Pahani’s “frequent guest”. This was the same year when Hushang Ansary was appointed as ambassador to US. Goli Ameri (Yazdi) got her approval for the position that she was appointed to by President G.W Bush in last November and was sworn in as assistant to secretary of state of United States for educational and cultural affairs.
Goli Ameri is an Iranina-American of republican party who entered major political arena in 2004 through her first bid for congress in which she was defeated by rival candidate from democratic party. She had some minor political positions previously and her campaign for congress was supported by Nina Ansary, the executive of Ansary foundation and daughter of Hushang Ansary. Nina Ansary is mainly a supporter of Democratic Party of United States but sometimes supports some Republican candidates too. She has contributed to GW Bush campaign funds as well as Alfonse M D'Amato of Republican party. Alfonse M D'Amato was accused by some political campaign groups that his positions were influenced towards certain bills and normalization of relation with Islamic Republic and that's how he has been receiving some unusually higher amounts of funding form certain political groups which are active in the same direction. Alfonse M D'Amato of course has denied this and so did Mr. Hushang Ansary who was also accused by same people.
Quote:
"The state Democratic Committee has also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging that Mr. D'Amato violated election laws by using his two state committees -- Renew New York and Renew New York/Bond Act -- to finance what they contend is a promotional campaign for him. The committees have spent nearly $1.5 million for television advertisements featuring Mr. D'Amato and his family talking about his record and mentioning his support for the bond act. "Mr. D'Amato says that his committees promote the bond act, not himself. "The complaint also says that Mr. D'Amato's use of state committees allows him to skirt Federal contribution limits, which are lower than state limits, citing a $25,000 contribution to Mr. D'Amato's committee by Hushang Ansary, a former Iranian finance minister who has advocated normalizing relations with Iran. Mr. Ansary, who maintains a house on Long Island, has said that he supports the bond act and that his donation was not intended to influence Mr. D'Amato."
Thanks DK for the informative information you put in here. So it seems her familiy made their money the old fashion way "They looted it!"
Some times I get jelous of these folks, live in lap of luxury, so bored have nothing to do, so they create foundations and scholorships (of course with looted money) , attend lecture circuts and interview with NPR and others and feel like what they do is important. Ah the kind of life I like to live but I can't afford!