H.E. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, GCSK, CSK, PhD, DSc, is a professor, biodiversity scientist, entrepreneur, and author. She served as the 6th President of the Republic of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the office.
Before her presidency, she was Managing Director of the Centre International de Développement Pharmaceutique (CIDP R&I) and Professor of Organic Chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius. Since 2001, she has served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and later as Pro Vice-Chancellor from 2004 to 2010.
She has authored and co-edited 30 books, as well as numerous book chapters and scientific articles in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. She is an elected Fellow of multiple academies and scientific societies, and has received several international awards, including the 2007 L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science and the African Union Commission Award for Women in Science in 2009. In 2021, she was appointed Distinguished Professor at the John Wesley School of Leadership at Carolina University in the United States.
In June 2016, she was listed among Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, and ranked first in the Forbes Top 100 Women in Africa lists of 2017 and 2019. She has been recognized as one of Foreign Policy’s 2015 Global Thinkers and is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates.