Lubna Khalid Al Qasimi


Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, is an Emirati politician and member of the ruling family of Sharjah and the niece to Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi. She was previously the Minister of State for Tolerance, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Minister of Economic and Planning of the United Arab Emirates. She was the first woman to hold a ministerial post in the United Arab Emirates.
Lubna graduated from the California State University, Chico with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, and has an Executive MBA from the American University of Sharjah. Lubna received an honorary doctorate of science from California State University, Chico.
In March 2014, she was appointed President of Zayed University. As of 2017, she is listed as the 36th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

History

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid bin Sultan al Qasimi returned to the UAE to work as a programmer for software company Datamation in 1981.
Lubna acted as the Dubai branch manager for the General Information Authority, the organization responsible for automating the federal government of the United Arab Emirates.
After this posting, she took up the position of senior manager of the Information Systems department at the Dubai Ports Authority, the largest port in the Middle East, and worked in this role for seven years.
As part of a cabinet reshuffle, the prime minister of UAE, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced that Sheikha Lubna would take a post as a minister in the newly established Ministry of tolerance.

Business career

Lubna Khalid Sultan al Qasimi's work at the DPA led His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Ports and Customs, to award her the “Distinguished Government Employee Award” in 1999 and appoint her as Chief Executive of Tejari, the first Middle Eastern business-to-business marketplace. Lubna established the governmental organization in Dubai in June 2000 to promote e-business between organizations. Under Lubna's leadership, Tejari has won the awards for the World Summit for Information Society’s "Best e-Content Provider in e-business" and the UAE Super Brands Council "Super Brand of 2003".

Other organizations

Lubna Khalid Sultan al Qasimi sits on various boards at organisations aside from responsibilities as UAE Economy and Planning Minister and Tejari CEO.