Rima Khalaf Hunaidi (; born 1953, in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

) is a national of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

who served as Executive Secretary of the

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA; ) is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The role of the Commission is to promote economic and social d ...

(ESCWA) from 2010 to 2017. She resigned from this position in March 2017, rather than comply with a request from the UN Secretary General

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

to withdraw a report that accused Israel of establishing an apartheid regime.

Education

Khalaf holds a BA in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

and a Master's in Economics and a Ph.D in System Science from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

in the United States of America.

Career

Public service

Rima Khalaf Hunaidi held several high-ranking ministerial positions in Jordan, including: * Minister of Industry and Trade (1993–1995). * Minister of Planning (1995–1998). *

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and Minister of Planning (1999–2000). In her capacity as Deputy Prime Minister and head of the ministerial economic team, Khalaf promoted economic reform in Jordan while working on promoting

social development Social development can refer to: * Psychosocial development * Social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at ...

through building

human capital Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...

, alleviating

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and strengthening social safety nets.

International forums for development

Khalaf held the position of Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States (RBAS) at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from 2000 to 2006. She led important regional initiatives on

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, knowledge acquisition and economic growth in the

Arab States The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. She was the founder of the pioneering

Arab Human Development Report The Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) is an independent report sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), providing leading Arab scholars a platform through which to analyze the challenges and opportunities for human developmen ...

. The first Report in the series, entitled "Creating Opportunities for Future Generations", received the 2003 Prince Claus Award. The third Report, entitled "Towards Freedom in the Arab World", received the King Hussein Leadership Prize in 2005. Khalaf is a regular contributor to regional and international policy forums concerned with the state of development in the Arab world. She participated in a number of international commissions chief among them are the High Level Commission on the Modernization of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Group Governance (2008–2009), and the International Advisory Group for Managing Global Insecurity (2007–2008). Ms. Khalaf also served as the Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the United Nations Democracy Fund (2006–2007). She was a visiting scholar at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

during the spring semester of 2009-2010. Also in 2008-9 Khalaf served as the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation. Khalaf served at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) from 2010 to 2017.

UN controversy

On 17 March 2017, Rima Khalaf announced her resignation from her position at the UN saying the UN had pressured her to withdraw a report published by

ESCWA The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA; ) is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The role of the Commission is to promote economic and social d ...

, co-authored by

Richard Falk Richard Anderson Falk (born November 13, 1930) is an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor's Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 2004, he was listed as the autho ...

, accusing Israel of establishing "an

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

regime". The UN Secretary-General António Guterres requested the removal of the report from the UN website after previously distancing himself from it. United States UN ambassador

Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...

, commenting on the resignation, said: "When someone issues a false and defamatory report in the name of the UN, it is appropriate that the person resign." She had assisted in appointing Falk to write the report, and defend its contents. Israel described her as an

anti-semite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. "A few weeks ago ... together with our American friends, we made clear that Rima Khalaf, an anti-Semite, a promoter of BDS, will not be tolerated in the halls of the UN", Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told attendees at the UN. However, Khalaf has dismissed previous Israeli allegations of anti-Semitism and has stood by the report.

Other activities

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...

(ICG), Board of Trustees (since 2023)Crisis Group Welcomes Eight New Trustees to its Board

(ICG), press release of 19 January 2023.

Awards

Khalaf received the League of Arab States award for "the Most Distinguished Arab Woman in the Field of International Organizations" in 2005 and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the

American University of Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

in 2009, in recognition of her "important regional initiatives in education, women's rights, civic engagement and economic growth". In December 2009, the Financial Times listed Khalaf among the top fifty people who shaped the decade.

Personal life

A Jordanian citizen, Khalaf is married and has two children.

References

External links

UN Biography Rima Khalaf
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