Robin Lynn Raphel

Robin Lynn Raphel
Raphel at the Pakistani American Congress Annual Meeting, 2012
14th U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia
In office 7 November 1997 – 6 August 2000
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Mary Ann Casey
Succeeded by	Rust MacPherson Deming
1st Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
In office 2 August 1993 – 27 June 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Succeeded by	Karl Inderfurth
Personal details
Born	Robin Lynn Johnson 1947 Vancouver, Washington
Spouse(s)	Arnold L. Raphel (1972-1982) Leonard A. Ashton (1990-?)(div)
Children	Two daughters: Alexandra and Anna
Alma mater	University of Washington, B.A. History & Economics (1965-1969) University of Maryland, M.A. Economics (1972-1974)
Profession	Career diplomat Government consultant Expert on Pakistan affairs

Robin Lynn Raphel (born 1947) is an American former diplomat, ambassador, CIA analyst and an expert on Pakistan affairs. Until November 2, 2014, she served as coordinator for non-military assistance to Pakistan, carrying on the work of the late Richard Holbrooke, whose AfPak team she joined in 2009. In 1993, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the nation's first Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, a newly created position at the time designed to assist the U.S. government in managing an increasingly complex region. She later served as U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia from November 7, 1997 to August 6, 2000, during Clinton's second term in office.

In the 2000s, Raphel held a number of South Asia-related diplomatic positions. She retired from the State Department in 2005 after 30 years of service, but returned in 2009 as a senior adviser on Pakistan under then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In November 2014 it was reported that Raphel was the subject of a federal counterintelligence investigation, and that the FBI had searched her home and her security clearance had been revoked. In March 2016, the investigation was closed without any charges being filed.

Robin Lynn Johnson was born in Vancouver, Washington in 1947 to Vera and Donald Johnson, a manager of an aluminum plant. She has two sisters, Karen Freeze and Deborah Johnson. She graduated from high school in Longview, Washington in 1965.