Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa (born October 18, 1952) ( ar, هيا راشد آل خليفة) is a lawyer and diplomat from

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. As ambassador to France 1999-2004 she became Bahrain's first ever female ambassador. She is one of the first women to practice law in Bahrain, and the third ever woman to preside at the UN General Assembly.

Legal career

Haya obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from the

University of Kuwait 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 ...

in 1974. She has also obtained a Diploma in Civil Rights Private Law from the

University of Alexandria Alexandria University ( ar, جامعة الإسكندرية) is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an indepen ...

, Egypt, in 1986 and a Diploma in Comparative Law from the

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was fou ...

, Egypt, in 1988. With

Lulwa Al Awadhi Lulwa Al Awadhi is a leading Bahraini women's rights advocate and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Women, the main women's organisation in Bahrain. She holds the rank of 'honorary cabinet minister', which she was given in 2002 whe ...

, she was one of the first two women in Bahrain to practice law when she was admitted as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

in Bahrain in 1979. She set up her own practise and is the founder of the Haya Rashed Al Khalifa Law Firm. From 1997 to 1999, she was the vice chairwoman of the

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA currently has a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associat ...

. She is the legal advisor to Bahrain's

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

and is a Global Advisors to

Orphans International Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is a charitable organization created to house and educate orphans and abandoned children. In response to the crisis facing orphaned children around the world, former investment bank employee Jim Luce founded ...

Diplomatic career

Haya was the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the 61st session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

which began on September 12, 2006, and closed on September 17, 2007. She was the third woman to hold the position since

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit ('' née'' Swarup Nehru; 18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician who was the 6th Governor of Maharashtra from 1962 to 1964 and 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly from 19 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Angie Elisabeth Brooks Angie Elizabeth Brooks (August 24, 1928 – September 9, 2007) was a Liberian diplomat and jurist. She was the only African female President of the United Nations General Assembly. She was also the second woman from any nation to head the U.N. bo ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

were appointed to the presidency in 1953 and 1969 respectively. She was elected by acclamation after Bahrain was chosen as its candidate by the group of Asian nations. In addition to being the first woman president since 1969, Haya was the first woman Muslim president. She was the

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1999 to 2004. When she was appointed Ambassador to France in 1999 she became the first ever female Bahraini ambassador. She also served as a permanent delegate to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

). The move was the first in a series of appointments of women to high-profile government positions in recent years, which have included the country's first female cabinet minister, Nada Haffadh, and six women nominated to the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament. On the same day (6 June 2006) that Haya was selected to preside at the UN,

Mona Al Kawari Mona may refer to: People *Mona (name), a female given name, nickname and surname *Mona (Angolan footballer) (born 1997) *Mona, ring name of American wrestler Nora Greenwald Museums *Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, Nebraska, US *Museum of Neon ...

became the first female judge in Bahrain.Gulf News: 'A date to remember with pride' http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/a-date-to-remember-with-pride-1.240006

Family and background

Haya is a member of the ruling

Al Khalifa The House of Khalifa ( ar, آل خليفة, translit=Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe, some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which m ...

family of

. She is the great-granddaughter of

Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa (1848–9 December 1932) was the ruler of Bahrain from 1869 until his death. His title was Hakim of Bahrain. He is one of the longest reigning monarchs of the region, a reign lasting 63 years. He was forced by the Brit ...

, who ruled Bahrain from 1869 to 1932. The present head of the family, King

Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa ( ar, حمد بن عيسى بن سلمان آل خليفة '; 28 January 1950) is King of Bahrain since 14 February 2002, after ruling as Emir of Bahrain from 6 March 1999. He is the son of Isa bin Salman ...

, is the great-great-grandson of Isa ibn Ali.

Appointments and awards

Sheika Haya has received the following awards: * United Nations Millennium Development Goals Special Award, 2007 * Path to Peace Award 2007 * Social Creativity Award, at the Sixth Conference of the Arab Thought Foundation. Sheikha Haya is a member of the following bodies: * World Intellectual Property Organisation Arbitration Committee * International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) * International Court of Arbitration * Bahrain Supreme Council of Culture, Arts & Literature * Bahrain Bar Association (Vice-Chair) * Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (Chairperson of the Board of Trustees) * Consumer Advisory Group of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Bahrain (Chair).

References

External links

"Outgoing General Assembly president urges more dialogue among civilizations
" UN News Centre, September 17, 2007.
Election of the President of the United Nations General Assembly
''United Nations''

* ttps://archive.today/20130124212901/http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10045331.html "A date 'to remember with pride'". Habib Toumi. Gulf News. June 8, 2006.br>"Bahraini woman becomes UN General Assembly president". Zee News. June 8, 2006.

''UN General Assembly to be headed by its third-ever woman president''
UN.org, June 8, 2006.

''Daily Telegraph'' (Australia), July 5, 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalifa, Haya Rashed Al- 1952 births Living people

Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa (born October 18, 1952) ( ar, هيا راشد آل خليفة) is a lawyer and diplomat from Bahrain. As ambassador to France 1999-2004 she became Bahrain's first ever female ambassador. She is one of the first women to prac ...