Rola Abdulla Dashti (; born 1964) is a

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 ...

i economist and business executive and former politician and minister. Dashti lobbied for the May 2005 decree permitting Kuwaiti women to run for parliamentary elections for the first time and was one of the first female MPs elected to the Kuwaiti parliament. She subsequently served as minister of state planning and development affairs and State Assembly affairs.

Education

Dashti earned a bachelor's degree from

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico (Chico State) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing ...

in 1984, a master's degree from

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

in 1985, and a Ph.D. in population dynamics from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1993, with a dissertation on the dynamics of teacher supply in Kuwait.

Career

Dashti is CEO of FARO International, a financial services consultancy, and a board member of Damac Kuwaiti Holding Co. Following the 1990–1991

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country for the next seven months ...

, Dashti managed emergency reconstruction contracts for the State of Kuwait and then participated in the effort to bring about the release of Kuwaiti prisoners held by

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. She was the first woman elected president of the Kuwait Economic Society and the first woman ever elected to head a Kuwaiti professional association Dashti lobbied for the May 2005 decree permitting Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary election. She was one of 28 female candidates in the 2006 parliamentary election, the first open to women. In 2006 and 2008 she did not win the election; in May 2009 she was one of the first four women elected to the Kuwaiti Parliament. In parliament, Dashti chaired the social affairs, labor, and health committee. In October 2011, she was also appointed to the budget committee and the committee for responding to the

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

's speech. Dashti was not reelected in 2012. She was subsequently the only woman appointed to the new Kuwaiti cabinet, as state minister for planning and development and state minister for National Assembly affairs; she was reappointed that December. Dashti has also served as Manager of Economics at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and as an economist for the Kuwait National Bank, and has been a consultant to 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 ...

and on the Executive Committee of the Kuwait chapter of Young Arab Leaders. She chaired the 2015–2016

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Global Agenda Council on the Middle East and North Africa.

Honors

In 2005, Dashti won The

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

Humanitarian Award. She was listed by ''

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

'' among their 100 most influential Arabs for 2007 and 2008. In 2010, she won the

North–South Prize The North–South Prize is awarded annually by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe to two public figures who are recognised for their deep commitment, outstanding achievements and hope they have generated in the field of protection of ...

alongside

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

Personal life

Dashti is from a

Shi'ite Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

family of Iranian ancestry and has 23 siblings. Her father, Abdullah Ali Dashti, also served in the Kuwaiti parliament; her mother is Lebanese.

Footnotes

External links