Nurjehan Mawani C.M, LL.D. (hon) is a lawyer, public servant, diplomat and global Canadian. She is a champion of justice, gender equity, and inclusive development who has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees in Canada and to advance rights and educational opportunities for women and girls internationally.
Under her leadership as the Chairperson and Chief Executive of the Immigration Refugee Board in the nineties, Canada became the first country internationally to recognize gender-related persecution as a ground for refugee status under the Geneva Convention. As Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of Canada she championed equity, inclusion, and representation in the Public Service. From 2005-2019, she served as Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network to the Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan. In both countries, she partnered with multiple stakeholders to improve quality of life, ensuring that women’s voices were included to advance equitable development as a path to peace, progress, and stability.
Since 2022, Nurjehan has served as Governor and Vice-Chairperson of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Victoria Forum, the Canadian International Council, Academics Without Borders, and sits on Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Environment’s External Advisory Committee.
She is the inaugural Chair in Global Engagement and a Senior Fellow at Massey College where she serves on the Anti-Black Racism Advisory Council, the Senior Advisory Board of the Afghan Women’s Fellowship Program, and is actively involved in the Massey community.
Nurjehan has received many prestigious honours for her contributions to public service, including the Order of Canada, the Public Service of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award, several honorary doctorates, and the 2024 Women in Law Leadership Rosalie Silberman Abella Award. She lives in Toronto.