Saudi Female ambassadors: Kingdom selects 2 new ambassadors

The number of Saudi women leaders in the diplomatic corps has increased to five, with the addition of two new female  ambassadors, Nisreen Al-Shibel and Haifa Al-Jadea to the list of Saudi representatives in its embassies abroad.

 

The Saudi female  ambassadors includes Princess Rima Al Saud, Inas Al-Shahwan, and Amal Al-Moallimi, in the implementation of the Kingdom’s directives to enhance the participation of women and enable them to assume leadership positions.

Al-Shibl, ambassador to Finland, and Al-Jadea, head of the Kingdom’s mission to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC), took the oath before King Salman on Tuesday, at Al-Yamamah Palace in the capital, Riyadh.

Al-Jadea is one of the eight members of the executive team in the Saudi Research and Media Group, and she held the position of CEO of “SRMG Think”.

«SRMG Think» is a newly established studies department of the company, whose mission is to provide perspectives and analyses in the Middle East and North Africa, in economics, geography, foreign policy.

This section is also concerned with the social affairs of the region. In addition to providing studies in literature and culture, innovative solutions in publishing and analysis, and other fields.

Al-Jadaa previously worked at the UN Center for Combating Terrorism, represented her country at the UN and the Security Council, and worked as a supervisor for the General Department of International Relations at the Saudi Ministry of Tourism.

Al-Jadea holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution and negotiation from Colombia University and a master’s degree in international relations from Syracuse University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made tremendous strides to empower women in the country and offer them greater opportunities. The efforts come as part of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s transformative Vision 2030 which aims to enhance women’s position in the Kingdom and offer equal opportunities. After these appointments, Kingdom now has 5 Saudi female ambassadors abroad.

The priority was given to HRH Princess Rima bint Bandar Al Saud, who assumed the duties of the Saudi embassy in Washington, becoming at that time the first woman to hold the position of ambassador.

The Saudi ambassador to Norway, Amal Al-Moallimi, and Inas Al-Shahwan, the Saudi ambassador to Sweden, joined the list later.

HRH Princess Rima bint Bandar, who obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mont Veron College at George Washington University in the United States of America in 1999, is the one with the highest priority.

In addition to being the first Saudi female ambassador to Saudi Arabia, she is also the first woman to head a multi-sports federation in the Kingdom, through her position as president of the Saudi Federation for Community Sports.

Ambassador Amal Al-Moallimi began her career more than 20 years ago, in the field of education, training and social development. where I worked as a teacher for 5 years,

Al-Moallimi also worked as a mentor for 8 years, in addition to her work for one year in the Educational Training Department at the Ministry of Education.

Al-Moallimi, after that, held the position of director of the women’s branch at the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue between 2013 and 2015.

She was also a member of several committees, including the Supervisory Committee for the Municipal Elections in 2016, the National Committee for Drug Protection,

Al-Moallimi also worked as a preparation consultant for Saudi state television, after which she was appointed to the Saudi Embassy in Norway.

Saudi female ambassador Inas Al-Shahwan is the first woman to hold the position of director of a department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Agency for Political and Economic Affairs.

Al-Shahwan handled a number of important political files and participated in representing Saudi Arabia in many regional and international forums.

She also contributed to the training of several employees of the Ministry and various government sectors in the field of international relations, after which she was appointed ambassador to Sweden.

Al-Shahwan holds a master’s degree in international relations from Australia.

She is a member of the first cohort of the Future Leaders Program, 2017, and obtained the Emerging Leadership Program Certificate from Harvard University.