Hakima El Haite (born 13 May 1963) is a Moroccan climate scientist, entrepreneur and politician. In 1994 she founded EauGlobe, the first environmental engineering firm in the MENA region. She served as minister delegate in charge of the environment for the Kingdom of Morocco from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, she was elected vice president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference ( COP21). She was appointed special envoy for climate change of the Kingdom of Morocco from 2015 to 2017 and the high level climate champion of the United Nations International Climate Conference (COP22) from 2016 to 2017. She was the president of the

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

since December 2018 until December 2024. the first non-European in this post.

Early life and education

El Haite was born in Fez on 13 May 1963. She has a degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez (1986), a postgraduate degree in

ecotoxicology Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population biology, population, biological community, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, ...

from Moulay Ismail University in

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

(1987). She has two PhDs, one in

environmental studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...

from the University of Meknes (1991) and one in

environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...

from the

École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, France with a thesis on the treatment of wastewater. She also has a diploma in political communication from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in the United States (2008).

Career

El Haite worked for the urban agency of Fez in territorial administration until 1993. She was also the Treasurer of the National Union of Women. In 1994, she founded the company EauGlobe, which specializes in engineering and environmental consulting. She is Vice President of US-NAPEO, the US-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity, and ConnectinGroup International, the first organization training women for appointed office. El Haite is a member of the Popular Movement political party. In 2007, she became president of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Morocco. She became president of the International Network of Liberal Women in 2012. Since December 2012, she has been president of the International Relations of the Popular Movement. El Haite was appointed Minister Delegate in Charge of the Environment for the Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment in 2013. In this position she oversees environmental policies in the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

so that a

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

component is included in every public policy initiative. Morocco also has environmental police. She participated in the

2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference Background The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP19 or CMP9 was held in Warsaw, Poland from 11 to 23 November 2013. This is the 19th yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Conv ...

in Warsaw and 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima before taking a leading role in

2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015. It was the 21st yearly session of the United Nations Climate Change conference, Conference of the Parties (COP) ...

, the

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

negotiations in Paris in December 2015. In May 2016, she was appointed a "High Level Climate Change Champion" by the Conference of Parties to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

. On 19 September 2016, El Haite gave the keynote address at the opening event of

Climate Week NYC Climate Week NYC is a charity event that takes place in New York City every year. Its purpose is to promote climate action by appealing to "business leaders, political change makers, local decision takers and civil society representatives". Clima ...

in New York City, calling on world leaders to move from their

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

commitments to more robust climate action. She was a host of 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

in November 2016.

Personal life

El Haite is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

Awards and honours

In 2014, El Haite was awarded the Freedom Prize by the Spanish Foundation Women for Freedom and Democracy. In December 2016, she received the insignia of Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of the French Republic from President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

. The award was presented by former Prime Minister

Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...

for her national and international commitment to the ecological cause.

Publications

* * *

References

External links

Government profile (in French)

Interview on Climate Changes News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haite, Hakima Living people 1963 births 21st-century Moroccan scientists 21st-century Moroccan women scientists Climatologists Women climatologists Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University alumni University of Washington alumni Knights of the Legion of Honour People from Fez, Morocco 21st-century Moroccan women politicians 21st-century Moroccan politicians