Safa Al Hashem (born April 14, 1964) is a politician who was an elected Member of Parliament to the Kuwait Parliament. In Kuwait history, she was the only female member to be elected to the Kuwait parliament consecutively more than two times. In 2020, she lost her seat after getting only 430 votes in 2020 compared to 3,273 in 2016.

Education

Al Hashem obtained a degree in English literature from

Kuwait University Kuwait University ( ar, جامعة الكويت, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 2 ...

and completed her MBA from the Pennsylvania State University. She also has a post graduate executive education diploma from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

. In 2011, she was awarded a Ph.D, Doctorate (

Honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

) by the

American University of Technology American University of Technology (AUT), is a private university established in Lebanon. It was founded in 1998 by Ghada Hinain near Byblos. The university is directed by an appointed Board of Trustees. AUT's mission is to provide non-sectaria ...

Career

Before entering politics, Al Hashem worked for the government in the Ministry of Higher Education. She later worked in various private companies being associated with PIC,

PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

and the

KIPCO Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), known as KIPCO, is an investment holding company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with consolidated assets of US$34.2 billion as of 31 December 2018. The group has significant ownership interest ...

Group. Al Hashem then started Advantage Consulting in partnership with KIPCO and Gulf One Investment Bank, Bahrain.

Politics

Al Hashem first stood for elections for 3rd Constituency in 2012 and won. After this parliament was annulled, she stood again from the same constituency and won again. In the 2012 assembly, she served as the

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

of the Economic and Financial Affairs committee, and was a member of the Response to the Amiri Addrss and Foreign Affairs committees. Al Hashem is notorious for her populist comments against foreigners living in Kuwait, including recommending that foreigners should be banned from obtaining driving licenses and should be taxed to walk on the streets. She also called on the government to impose charges on expatriates for everything they do, including taxing the air they breathe in the country".

Awards

* 2009 Business Woman of the Year. * 2007 Female CEO of the year - CEO Middle East

References

1964 births Living people Kuwaiti women in politics 21st-century women politicians Members of the National Assembly (Kuwait) Kuwait University alumni Harvard Business School alumni {{Kuwait-politician-stub