Who Is She

Personal information

Member of Parliament, Former Minister, President of a Non-Governmental Organization
Bahia Hariri

Contact information / Work

Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development
Postbox: 
11-2151 Nijme District Downtown, Beirut
Beirut Downtown, Emir Bechir str., No. 12, Khayat Bldg., 1st flr.
Phone: 
961 1 972221 & 961 7 727727
Fax: 
961 1 972229 & 961 7 725516
Mobile: 
961 3 720000

Social Media

Education

Education: 
  • Teaching Diploma, School of Preparing Teachers, Center for Research and Educational Development, Lebanon.

Areas of expertise

Expertise: 
  • Sustainable Human Development
  • Legislation
  • Education
  • Empowerment of Women
  • Civil Society Mobilization
Languages: 
  • Arabic
  • English
  • French

Work history

Jobs: 
  • Member of Parliament, 1992 - present, Lebanese Parliament.
  • Head of the Committee for Education, 1992 - present, Lebanese Parliament.
  • President, 1979 - present, Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development.
  • President, 1997 - present, National Committee for Public Schools.
  • President, 1994 - present, Saida Patrimoine et Environnement.
  • Minister of Education & Higher Education, 2008 - 2009, Lebanese Government.

Honorary office and memberships

  • Associate-Member of the World Bank Parliamentary Network, 2004- present.
  • Member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Thought Foundation, 2002-present.
  • Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for Arab Women and Girls, 2000-present.
  • Founding Member of the Arab Women Summit, 2000 - present.
  • Board Member of the University of Sciences and Technology and Sea Transportation – Alexandria (Egypt), 1997 - present.
  • Member of the Board of Directors at the University Institute of Technology, 1997 - present.
  • Member of the Board of Trustees at the Lebanese American University, 1992 - present.
  • Member of the Consultative Board of the Arab Human Development Report (United Nations Development Program), 2007.
  • Member of the Women’s Advisory Committee at the Islamic Development Bank, 2006.
  • Vice President of the Arab Parliament, 2005.

Productions

Major achievements: 
  • Initiated the establishment of an "Observatory for Arab Women"; a joint initiative between the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development, UN ESCWA and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), aiming to empower the Arab Woman to assume a more proactive role in the regional developmental process and to monitor the status of Arab women and identify gaps in their rights, 2010.
  • Established "The National Values Fund" for the "Greater Lebanon Centenary", aiming to fund studies and strategies needed for the "Vision of Lebanon 2020 Towards the Modern Civil State", 2013.
  • Initiated "Mrs. Khadija Bint Khwaylid's Award for Arab Business Women”, launched at the Jeddah Economic Forum 2003, to support the Arab women and promote their efforts and initiatives at the local and international levels.
  • Promoted the status of women in Arab society and called for the adoption of laws that protect women and contribute to their emancipation.
  • Beirut Appeal: Declared the 8th of March 2002 as a day of solidarity with women and Palestinian Intifada & requested Arab leaders to support the participation of Parliamentarian Women in the following Arab Summit, March 2002.
  • Kuwait Appeal: Declared the first of February as The Arab Woman Day, October 1999.
  • Tunisia Appeal: Requested the establishment of the Arab Women Congress, November 1999.

Awards and Distinctions

Awards: 
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa from Dundee University, UK, 2010.
  • Honorary Doctorate from the American University of Science & Technology (AUST), 2010.
  • 1000 Women for Peace Prize (Nobel Peace Prize 2005) in recognition of all her contributions and services, 2005.
  • Legion d’honneur, awarded by the French President Jacques Chirac, 2003.
  • The “Agha Khan” Award, in recognition of her efforts in the reconstruction of The Big Omari Mosque, 1989.
  • Lebanese Cedar Award, Lieutenant rank, in recognition of her services in Social and Cultural fields, 1989.
  • The “Golden Apple” Award from the National Union of the Writers and the Tourist journalists.