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Atif Qarni
American politician (born 1978) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Atif Mustafa Qarni (born 1978) is an American teacher, former military non-commissioned officer, and Democratic politician who was appointed by Governor Ralph Northam as Virginia Secretary of Education.[1]
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Early life and education
Emigrating from Karachi, Pakistan, with his family at the age of ten, Qarni grew up in Parkville, Maryland, before moving to Manassas, Virginia, in 2005.[2] He obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology from George Washington University, a master’s in history and a teaching license in secondary education from George Mason University, a master's in educational administration from Strayer University, and is a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University.[3][4][5]
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Career
He served in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and rose to the rank of Sergeant.[2][3] He served as a paralegal at the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery before beginning a career in teaching.[citation needed] He then served as a civics, economics, U.S. history, and math teacher at Beville Middle School in Dale City.[2][3] Qarni ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2013, losing to incumbent Bob Marshall,[6] and for the Virginia Senate in 2015, losing the Democratic nomination to Jeremy McPike.[7] He was appointed as the Virginia Secretary of Education by governor Ralph Northam in 2017.[3][8] In 2021, he resigned from the cabinet position to become the managing director of external affairs at Temple University’s Hope Center.[9][10] In 2024, he ran in the Democratic primary for Virginia's 10th congressional district, placing third.[11][12]
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Electoral history
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References
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