First Lady of Qatar

Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, First Lady of Qatar

Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned has been actively engaged in education and other social reforms in Qatar for many years and has played a major role in spearheading national and international development projects.

She currently serves as Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a private non-profit organization founded in 1995 on the personal initiative of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani. In autumn 2003, Qatar Foundation inaugurated Education City, a prototypical campus of the future, bringing branches of renowned international universities to Qatar to provide top class degree programs and to share research and community-based ventures.

In addition to her work at Qatar Foundation, Her Highness has long served as President of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs which aims to strengthen the role of the family in society and addresses issues of concern to women and children. Her Highness serves as well as Vice Chairperson of both the Supreme Education Council and the Supreme Health Council. In addition, she is Chairperson of the Sidra Medical and Research Center project to build a premier academic medical center in Qatar, Chairperson of the Silatech initiative to address the growing challenge of youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa region, and Chairperson of the Doha-based Arab Democracy Foundation.

Her Highness plays an important role on the international stage as well. In 2003, UNESCO appointed her Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education. In this capacity she actively promotes various international projects to improve the quality and accessibility of education worldwide. In June 2003, she established the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq which is dedicated to the reconstruction of institutions of advanced learning. In 2005, she was selected by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to be a Member of the High Level Group of the UN Alliance of Civilizations.

In concert with her UNESCO work, Her Highness is actively promoting and protecting the right to education in conflict-hit areas of the world, particularly Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan. She initiated a new strategy development project on ‘Education in Conflict’ in February 2009 and has created an internal Task Force on this issue.
In recent years, Her Highness has been recognized internationally for her leadership in various areas. As founder of the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs, she was awarded the Spirit of Leadership award from Best Buddies International in 2008 for her advocacy on behalf of children with disabilities. In 2007, she was awarded the prestigious Chatham House Award which is given annually to a leading international statesperson who is deemed to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year. Also in 2007, Forbes magazine named Her Highness one of the 100 most powerful women in the world, and The Times of London named her one of the 25 most influential business leaders in the Middle East.

In June 2009, Her Highness was inducted into the Academie des Beaux Arts de l’Institut de France (Academy of Fine Arts of the Institute of France), the prestigious French learned society that generates awareness of the arts through education and helps develop artistic relationships on an international level.

Her Highness graduated from Qatar University in 1986 with a degree in sociology. She has been awarded honorary doctorates from Virginia Commonwealth University, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon University, Imperial College London, and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.