Joseph Ghougassian, is the deputy senior adviser to the Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MHESR) and  former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Qutar.

Ghougassian has been working in Baghdad over the last nine months to redevelop Iraq’s higher education system. MHESR, led by Coalition Provisional Authority Senior Advisor John Agresto and Ghougassian,  oversees the administration of 20 major public universities in Iraq, two post-graduate commissions and 43 technical institutes and colleges in Iraq.

He began his career as an instructor at University of San Diego before earning his Juris Doctorate at their law school in 1980.  After leaving San Diego Ghougassian was a member of the Office of Policy Development at the White House, served as special assistant for Public and Private Liaison, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services, was a consultant with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice and has served as director of the Peace Corps in the Yemen Arab Republic.

Ghougassian holds several degrees including a B.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy, a B.S. in family studies and an master’s in international relations.