Monday evening, the United Nations announced that the Jordanian diplomat Sima Sami Bahous will be appointed as the new executive director of UN Women.

She was described as “a champion for women and girls, gender equality and youth empowerment,” by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Bahous recently served as Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations in New York, after serving as “Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), from 2012 to 2016, and Assistant Secretary‑General and Head of the Social Development Sector at the League of Arab States, from 2008 to 2012,” the UN statement said.

Domestically, in Jordan, she has also served as President of the Higher Media Council and Advisor to King Abdullah II.

The UN described her in the statement as having 35 years of experience at various levels and working for the advancement of women and fighting against violence, discrimination and poverty.

Bahous is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Society for Health Awareness in Jordan, and she also worked for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“Ms. Bahous holds a doctorate degree in mass communication and development from Indiana University, in the United States; a master’s degree in literature and drama from Essex University, in the United Kingdom; and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Jordan University. She is fluent in Arabic and English, and proficient in French,” the statement added.

Her list of accomplishments go on, as she was also a faculty member at various universities teaching development and communication studies, as well as having worked on the Board of Trustees of a number of academic, media and non-governmental organizations.