Hakima El Haite | |
|---|---|
| حكيمة الحيطي | |
.jpg) Hakima El Haite in May 2016 | |
| Born | (1963-05-13)13 May 1963 (age 62) |
| Alma mater | Moulay Ismail University |
| Occupation(s) | Climate scientist, politician |
| Political party | Popular Movement |
Hakima El Haite (born 13 May 1963) is aMoroccan climate scientist, entrepreneur and politician.
In 1994 she founded EauGlobe, the first environmental engineering firm in the MENA region. She served as minister delegate in charge of the environment for the Kingdom of Morocco from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, she was elected vice president of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). She was appointed special envoy for climate change of the Kingdom of Morocco from 2015 to 2017 and the high level climate champion of the United Nations International Climate Conference (COP22) from 2016 to 2017.
She was the president of theLiberal International since December 2018 until December 2024. the first non-European in this post.[1]
El Haite was born inFez on 13 May 1963. She has a degree inbiology andmicrobiology fromSidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez (1986), a postgraduate degree inecotoxicology fromMoulay Ismail University inMeknes (1987). She has two PhDs, one inenvironmental studies from the University of Meknes (1991) and one inenvironmental engineering from theÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne inSaint-Étienne, France with a thesis on the treatment of wastewater. She also has a diploma in political communication from theUniversity of Washington in the United States (2008).[2][3]
El Haite worked for the urban agency of Fez in territorial administration until 1993. She was also the Treasurer of the National Union of Women. In 1994, she founded the company EauGlobe, which specializes in engineering and environmental consulting.[2] She is Vice President ofUS-NAPEO, the US-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity, and ConnectinGroup International, the first organization training women for appointed office.
El Haite is a member of thePopular Movement political party. In 2007, she became president of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs in Morocco. She became president of theInternational Network of Liberal Women in 2012. Since December 2012, she has been president of the International Relations of the Popular Movement.[2][3]
El Haite was appointed Minister Delegate in Charge of the Environment for the Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment in 2013. In this position she oversees environmental policies in theconstitution so that asustainable development component is included in every public policy initiative.[4] Morocco also has environmental police.[5]
She participated in the2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw and2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima before taking a leading role in2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, theclimate change negotiations in Paris in December 2015.[3][6] In May 2016, she was appointed a "High Level Climate Change Champion" by the Conference of Parties to theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.[7][8]
On 19 September 2016, El Haite gave the keynote address at the opening event ofClimate Week NYC in New York City, calling on world leaders to move from theirParis Agreement commitments to more robust climate action.[9] She was a host of2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference inMarrakesh in November 2016.[10][11][12]
El Haite is fluent in Arabic, English and French.[3]
In 2014, El Haite was awarded the Freedom Prize by the Spanish Foundation Women for Freedom and Democracy.[13] In December 2016, she received the insignia of Chevalier of theLegion of Honour of the French Republic from PresidentFrançois Hollande. The award was presented by former Prime MinisterLaurent Fabius for her national and international commitment to the ecological cause.[14][15]
