Queen Rania

Queen Rania, the 34-year-old wife of Jordan's King Abdullah bin Al Hussein, is ranked the 80th most powerful woman in the world. Though she gave birth to her fourth child in January 2005, she continues to fight for adequate housing and education, and a better role for women in the communal life of her country. Born to a Palestinian family, Queen Rania has been a key speaker at the World Economic Forum, where she implored attendees to do more for peace and to improve the lives of the poor. She continues to champion an organisation that publicises and stops child abuse, one of the first of its kind in the Arab world. The queen also spearheads a large nonprofit that helps women become better business executives.

 

 

Lubna Olayan, 50, is ranked the most powerful Arab businesswoman and the 97th most powerful woman in the world. She runs Olayan Financing Co, the Middle East arm of the Olayan Group and one of Saudi Arabia's biggest concerns. She has been its chief executive since 1986. Olayan was recently elected to the board of Saudi Hollandi Bank, the first woman to join the board of a Saudi-listed company. She also recently joined the board of advertising and communications giant WPP. An advocate for progressive business practices in the Middle East, she co-chaired the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and is a trustee of the Arab Thought Foundation. She credits her success to her late father Suleiman S Olayan, the well-regarded Saudi businessman and billionaire, who encouraged her to join the family company in 1983 after a stint working in New York, at a time when few women were welcomed in Saudi corporations.

 

 

Kuwaiti Maha Al Ghunaim, ranked the second most powerful Arab businesswoman, is vice chairman of Global Investment House. She founded the investment bank in 1998, and manages $6 billion in assets. GIH recently helped take public telecom Investcom, in what was the biggest equity offering by a Middle Eastern company.

 

 

Sheikha Al Bahar, ranked the third most powerful Arab businesswoman, is group general manager for corporate banking at the National Bank of Kuwait. She started as a trainee at the firm, and today oversees $5 billion in assets. She recently played a lead role in financing Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications' $3.5 billion acquisition of Celtel International, one of Africa's leading mobile operators.

 

 

Raja Al Gurg

Raja Al Gurg, ranked the fourth most powerful Arab businesswoman, is head of the Easa Al Gurg Group of Companies and president of the Federation of the United Arab Emirates' Chambers of Commerce and Industry Businesswomen's Committee.

 

 

Dr Nahed Taher, ranked the fifth most powerful Arab businesswoman, is CEO of the Bahrain-based Gulf Investment Bank, and the first Saudi woman to head a bank in the Gulf.

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