5 Lebanese Ranked Among World’s 10 Most Powerful Middle-Eastern Women!

Grace Hovsepian·
Ranked
·
Home
Magazine
Ranked

Besides being among the top 100 most influential businesswomen in the region, successful Lebanese women are also deemed among the most powerful!

Forbes Middle East shared a list called “World’s 10 Most Powerful Arab Women”. Among them are five world-renowned Lebanese figures.

#1 Nemat (Minouche) Shafik

Title: Deputy Governor Bank of England.

Citizenship: U.K.

Country of origin:

#2 Amal Clooney

View this post on Instagram

🙏 #amalclooney

A post shared by Amal Clooney (@amalclooneyy) on

Title: Lawyer, Doughty Street Chambers

Citizenship: U.K.

Country of origin:

#3 Nayla Hayek

View this post on Instagram

Nayla Hayek is a Lebanese-Swiss businesswoman. She is the CEO of Harry Winston Inc. and chairwoman of Swatch Group Ltd., the company founded by her father, Nicolas Hayek Sr. Nayla is known for being the first female breaking the crystal ceiling in the largely male-dominated watch industry. She’s on the board of directors of Swatch Group and was named vice-chair of the board of directors in May 2010. She has been recognized on the World’s Most Powerful and Influential Arab Women lists and in 2017, she was named one of the 100 Powerful Arabs. In addition to being the highest-ranking woman in the watch industry and leading the world’s largest watch company, Nayla is a horse-breeding expert. She owns over 60 purebred Arabian horses and has become an international Arabian horse judge.

A post shared by Between East (@betweeneast) on

Title: Chair, Swatch; CEO, Harry Winston

Citizenship:

Country of origin:

#4 Myriam El Khomri

Title: Minister of Labor

Citizenship:

Country of origin: Morocco

#5 Najat Vallaud-Belkacem

Title: Minister of National Education

Citizenship:

Country of origin: Morocco

#6 Rula Ghani

Title: Afghanistan’s First lady

Citizenship: Afghanistan

Country of origin:

#7 Reem Acra

Title: Fashion Designer

Citizenship: U.S.

Country of origin:

#8 Ayah Bdeir

View this post on Instagram

Ayah Bdeir is a Lebanese-Canadian inventor, interactive artist, and entrepreneur. Raised in Beirut, her parents incited a love for math, science, and design while encouraging her and her sisters to pursue their passions in life. Ayah received her Masters degree from MIT’s Media Lab and was awarded a fellowship from tech non-profit Eyebeam in NYC. In 2011, she founded littleBits Electronics, whose mission is to democratize tech by creating an open source library of modular electronics that provide the building blocks that can transform education through invention and play. By 2016, littleBits joined the Disney Accelerator program and partnered with Pearson to build science and engineering curriculums at companies that are available in 70 countries and used in more than 2000 schools worldwide. Named Popular Mechanics’ 25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the America Dream and Inc Magazine Top 100 Female Founders, Ayah has spoken at TED, SXSW, Solid, and CreativeMornings about the Maker movement and the importance of making tech accessible to all. Bravo!

A post shared by Between East (@betweeneast) on

Title: Founder, CEO, littleBits

Citizenship:

Country of origin:

#9 Hala Gorani

Title: Journalist, CNN

Citizenship: U.S.

Country of origin:

#10 Khadija Arib

View this post on Instagram

Op 6 maart ontvangt Khadija Arib de Aletta Jacobsprijs. Deze prijs wordt door de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen elke twee jaar uitgereikt aan een vrouw met een academische opleiding die zich inzet op het gebied van nationale en/of internationale vrouwenemancipatie. De prijs is opgedragen aan de eerste vrouwelijke student aan de RUG en vrouwelijke dokter van Nederland, Aletta Jacobs (1854-1929). ⁠ ⁠ Khadija Arib is de huidige Voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer en tevens medeoprichter en medeoprichter van de Marokkaanse Vrouwenvereniging in Nederland. ⁠ Vorige winnaars van deze prijs zijn onder andere Hedy d’Ancona, Petra Stienen en Lilianne Ploumen. ⁠ ⁠ Op de avond voorafgaand aan de prijsuitreiking, 5 maart, wordt er een College Tour-evenement georganiseerd namens Honours masterstudenten van de RUG ter ere van Khadija Arib.⁠ ⁠ #khadijaarib #alettajacobs #alettajacobsprijs #rijksuniversiteitgroningen #RUG #soroptimist #soroptimistnl #inspire #standup #speakout #awareness #advocacy #action #empowermentofwomen⁠

A post shared by Soroptimist Netherlands (@soroptimistnl) on

Title: Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives

Citizenship: Netherlands

Country of origin: Morocco

Our team works tirelessly to ensure Lebanese people have a reliable alternative to the politically-backed media outlets with their heavily-funded and dangerous propaganda machines. We've been detained, faced nonstop cyber attacks, censorship, attempted kidnapping, physical intimidation, and frivolous lawsuits draining our resources. Financial support from our readers keeps us fighting on your behalf. If you are financially able, please consider supporting The961's work. Support The961. Make a contribution now.