Saudia’s First Female U.S. Ambassador HH Princess Reema Is A Proven Advocate For Women’s Rights
Princess Rima bint Bandar al-Saud will go on to replace the crown prince’s younger brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, as the ambassador to the United States
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia just made HH Princess Reema bint Bandar al Saud their first-ever female ambassador to the United States. Following the crown prince’s younger brother Prince Khalid bin Salman (who was just made Deputy Defense Minister), she will also hold the position that her father Prince Bandar bin Sultan did in 1983 to 2005.
As a child to an ambassador, Her Royal Highness spent time living in Washington D.C. and later graduated from George Washington University with a degree in museology. Prior to accepting this historic position, she was still breaking boundaries for Saudi women as the first to lead a Saudi multi-sports federation as the Vice President for Women’s Affairs of the General Sports Authority, which she was appointed to in October 2016.
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Known as an advocate for female empowerment, her career trajectory alone reflects what it means to be a multihyphenate woman in the 21st century. She was the country’s first female CEO of a retail company, a member of Uber’s Public Policy Advisory board, and she’s an avid activist for breast cancer awareness in the Kingdom. Her Royal Highness has also been named to Forbes’ list of the 200 Most Powerful Arab Women in 2014.
Many advancements for the rights of women have been made in Saudi in the last several years, including gaining the right to drive, become pilots and flight attendants, getting their first female news anchor, and much more. Her appointment as the U.S. ambassador is another mark of progress for the Kingdom.
HH Princess Rima has not yet made a public statement aside from a Tweet on Instagram in Arabic, saying: “I extend the most sincere thanks and gratitude to His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Highness the Crown Prince – may God preserve them – for this generous and precious trust in appointing me as an ambassador to the United States of America. I will, God willing, serve my country, its leaders and all of its people. I will spare no effort in doing so.”