Biography

A trustee since 2012, Baassiri is currently the Director General of the Rafic Hariri Foundation. She started her career as a researcher in econometrics at the UN Bureau for Socio Economic Studies (ESCWA now), then ventured in several other domains which empowered her with multi-dimensional capabilities and equipped her to assume key responsibilities in the domains of education, science, culture and communication, also in the realms of cultural and religious dialogue as well as in Bioethics. In her capacity as Secretary General of Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO (1998 – 2011), she chaired, during the two successive UNESCO general conferences, (the 34th and 35th sessions) the PRX commission and the Social and Human sciences commission. She is currently a Board member of more than 16 not for profit educational and or cultural institutions. Baassiri produced several research papers, wrote newspaper articles, reviewed and edited numerous publications. In recognition of her outstanding stature and professional attainment, Mrs. Baassiri was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award for the year 2015 by the Worldwide Alumni Association of AUB (WAAAUB). She was decorated as Prominent Woman Figure by the Arab Cultural Club on the occasion of the International Women's Day 2016, Distinguished Woman Figure for the year 2017 by the Islamic Cultural Center and “Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” by the prime minister of the French Republic in consideration of the services she rendered to the French culture in 2018. She holds a BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut.