Fatimah Salem A. Baeshen () is a Saudi-American official who has worked for the Saudi government. She was

spokeswoman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for the

Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. () is the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's main and largest diplomatic mission to the United States. It is located at 601 New Hampshire Avenue NW/Jamal Khashoggi Way, Washington, D.C., in ...

from September 26, 2017, to January 23, 2019. Baeshen was the first woman to hold a spokesperson position in the Saudi Arabian government.

Early life and education

Fatimah is of

Saudi Saudi or Saudi Arabian may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia See also *Saud (disambiguation) The House of Saud The H ...

heritage and was born in the United States in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. She grew up in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

, moved to New England for college and then the Midwest. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in sociology from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

Commonwealth Honors College and a Master of Arts at the Center for

Middle Eastern studies Middle Eastern studies, sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies, West Asian Studies or South Western Asian studies, is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, an ...

(focusing on

Islamic finance Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...

) from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Career

She has lived and worked in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Amherst, MA,

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She worked as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. In September 2017, Baeshen was appointed Spokesperson for the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Washington, D.C. She was the first woman to hold a spokesperson post for the Saudi government. She is Founder and Principal of Quantum, a niche international affairs advisory firm focused on facilitating socioeconomic progress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baeshen, Fatimah Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Jeddah University of Chicago alumni Spokespersons University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences alumni American consultants American people of Saudi Arabian descent Saudi Arabian expatriates in the United States People from Oxford, Mississippi 21st-century Saudi Arabian writers 21st-century Saudi Arabian women writers