Rola Dashti

Dr. Rola Dashti is the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. A leading Kuwaiti economist and long-time champion of women’s rights and gender equality, she served as a member of the Supreme Planning Council in Kuwait and as Minister for Planning and Development and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. She also played a pivotal role in advocating for the decree to allow Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections, and in 2009, she with three other women became the first women to be elected to Kuwait’s parliament. She also held key positions in research and development institutions such as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and worked for major financial and development institutions such as the National Bank of Kuwait and the World Bank.