Rola Dashti

{{Short description|Kuwaiti economist, business executive and politician (born 1964)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Rola Dashti

| native_name = {{nobold|رولا عبدالله علي حاجيه دشتي}}

| native_name_lang = ar

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| birth_name = Rola Abdulla Dashti

| birth_date = 1964

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| nationality = Kuwaiti

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| education =

| alma_mater = California State University, Chico, California State University, Sacramento, Johns Hopkins University

| occupation = Academic, economist, business executive and former politician and minister

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}}

Rola Abdulla Dashti ({{langx|ar|رولا عبدالله علي حاجيه دشتي}}; born 1964){{cite news |first=Challiss |last=McDonough |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-06/2006-06-28-voa53.cfm |publisher=Voice of America |title=Kuwaiti Women Appear on Political Landscape This Election |date=2006-06-28 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406001333/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-06/2006-06-28-voa53.cfm |archivedate=2008-04-06 |url-status=dead }} is a Kuwaiti 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 in 1984, a master's degree from California State University, Sacramento in 1985, and a Ph.D. in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University in 1993, with a dissertation on the dynamics of teacher supply in Kuwait.[https://archive.org/stream/commencement1993#page/68/mode/2up 1993 Commencement], Johns Hopkins University, p. 86.

Career

Dashti is CEO of FARO International, a financial services consultancy,{{cite web |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/authors/rola-dashti |title=Authors: Rola Dashti |publisher=World Economic Forum |accessdate=2017-03-15 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.msmagazine.com/june03/kuwaiti_women.asp |title=Rise Up Kuwaiti Women 2007 |newspaper=Ms. magazine |date=Summer 2003 |accessdate=2017-03-15 }} and a board member of Damac Kuwaiti Holding Co.

Following the 1990–1991 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Dashti managed emergency reconstruction contracts for the State of Kuwait{{cite web |url=http://www.zu.ac.ae/leadership2006/roladashti.aspx |title=Women as Global Leaders: Communities in Transition. Dr. Rola Dashti: Chairperson, Kuwait Economic Society |publisher=Zayed University |year=2006 |accessdate=2017-03-15 }} and then participated in the effort to bring about the release of Kuwaiti prisoners held by Iraq.{{cite news |first=Mohamed |last=Omran |url=http://hayatouki.com/portraits/content/1874039-%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%88%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9 |title=رولا عبد الله دشتي .. ناشطة اقتصادية طالبت بحقوق المرأة السياسية |newspaper=Hayatouki |date=4 April 2014 |language=Arabic }} She was the first woman elected president of the Kuwait Economic Society{{cite book |contribution=Acknowledgements |editor1-first=Barbara |editor1-last=Ibrahim |editor2-first=Dina H. |editor2-last=Sherif |title=From Charity to Social Change: Trends in Arab Philanthropy |location=Cairo |publisher=American University in Cairo |year=2008 |isbn=9781936190614 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3ahODkMBVAC&pg=PR7 |page=viii }}{{cite news |first= Jamie |last=Etheridge |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0519/p07s02-wome.html |title=Progress on political rights for Kuwaiti women |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date=2005-05-19 }} and the first woman ever elected to head a Kuwaiti professional association{{cite web |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/rola-dashti-appointed-to-kuwaiti-cabinet |title=Rola Dashti appointed to Kuwaiti Cabinet |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |date=2012-07-20 |accessdate=2017-03-14 }}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.vitalvoices.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?page_id=14 |publisher=Vital Voices |title=Global Advisory Council Members |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620064643/http://www.vitalvoices.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?page_id=14 |archivedate=2009-06-20 }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.kuwaitpolitics.org/DataPage2107.htm |title=رولا عبدالله علي حاجيه دشتي : Rola Dashti |website=Kuwait Politics.org |language=Arabic |accessdate=2017-03-15}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.gov.kw/Ar/embassies/Canada/About-Kuwait/Pages/Kuwait-Woman.aspx |title=About Kuwait: The Role Woman in Kuwait |publisher=Government of Kuwait, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Kuwait in Canada |year=2012 |accessdate=2017-03-15 }}

In parliament, Dashti chaired the social affairs, labor, and health committee.{{cite web|title=Interview with Dr. Rola Dashti, Member of the Kuwaiti Parliament|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|date=2010-03-09

|url=http://carnegieendowment.org/2010/03/09/interview-with-dr.-rola-dashti-member-of-kuwaiti-parliament/6bft |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183916/http://carnegieendowment.org/2010/03/09/interview-with-dr.-rola-dashti-member-of-kuwaiti-parliament/6bft |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |accessdate=2011-11-06}} In October 2011, she was also appointed to the budget committee and the committee for responding to the Emir's speech.{{cite web|title=Kuwaiti parliament selects permanent, short-term cmtes |publisher=Kuwait News Agency |date=2011-10-25 |url= http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2198856&Language=en |accessdate=2011-11-06}}

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;{{cite news |url=http://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/omma/2016/09/21/708972/nr/kuwait |title=بورتريه / رولا الغائبة ... عندما تمطر الذكريات "صداماً" ودموعاً ! |newspaper=Al Rai |date=21 September 2016 |language=Arabic }} 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 and on the Executive Committee of the Kuwait chapter of Young Arab Leaders. She chaired the 2015–2016 World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Middle East and North Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Media/AM17/Accelerating_Reforms_MENA_.pdf |title=Accelerating Economic Reforms in the Middle East and North Africa: A Private-Sector Perspective |publisher=Middle East and North Africa Regional Business Council, World Economic Forum |date=January 2017 }}

Honors

In 2005, Dashti won The King Hussein Humanitarian Award.{{cite web |url=http://www.kesoc.org/kes/bod/ |publisher=Kuwait Economic Society |title=About Board of Directors |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620062348/http://www.kesoc.org/kes/bod/ |archivedate=2009-06-20 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.kinghusseinfoundation.org/index.php?pager=end&task=view&type=content&pageid=30|title=King Hussein Leadership Prize|publisher=King Hussein Foundation}} She was listed by Arabian Business among their 100 most influential Arabs for 2007[http://www.arabianbusiness.com/100-most-powerful-arabs-2007-147830.html Power 100, The World's Most Influential Arabs, Rank List 2007 - ArabianBusiness.com] and 2008.[http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/profile/524?clr=2 Power 100, The World's Most Influential Arabs, Rank List 2008 - ArabianBusiness.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506044123/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/power100/profile/524?clr=2 |date=2008-05-06 }}

In 2010, she won the North–South Prize alongside Mikhail Gorbachev.{{cite web |url=http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/winners_nsp_EN.asp |title=The North South Prize of the Council of Europe |publisher=North-South Centre, Council of Europe |year=2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711231824/http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/nscentre/winners_nsp_EN.asp |archivedate=2014-07-11 }}

Personal life

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