President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. She previously served as Minister of Culture from 2010 to 2014, Minister of Culture and Information from 2008 to 2010 and Assistant Undersecretary for Culture and National Heritage at the Ministry of Information. MA in Political History from Sheffield University, UK, she was listed as one of the 50 most influential women in the Arab world by Forbes Magazine in 2005. She received the legion d’honneur insignia in Arts and Literature from the Government of France in 2008 and the “Distinguished Arab Woman in the field of Administrative Leadership” prize from the Center of Woman Studies, Paris, in 2004, being among the 10 Arab women awarded the Arab League prize for Administrative Competence and Excellence. She also received the “Order of Merit” firs class medal from His Majesty, the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2008. In 2010 she was awarded the Noble Honor for being a distinguished international personality in the field of Ideology and Culture by a royal decree from His Majesty Muhammad Al Sadis, King of Morocco, and she was acknowledged by the Committee Colbert the Prize for Creativity and Heritage in Paris for playing a leading role in the fields of historical documentation, heritage preservation and cultural innovation. She was named Gulf Media Personality for 2010 by both the Gulf Society for the Press and Freedom of Information and the Arab Society for the Press and Freedom of Information (Araprs) in recognition of her efforts to promote the region’s media sector and defend freedom of speech and expression. In 2010 she received the Social Creativity Award from the Arab Thought Foundation of Beirut, Lebanon, and the knight of the legion of honour from the French government in 2011.