Biodiversity scientist
President of The Republic of Mauritius (2015-2018)
Biography
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has been the Managing Director of CIDP R and I, professor at the University of Mauritius where she served successively as Dean and Pro-Vice Chancellor and manager at the Mauritius Research Council. Her outstanding contributions to science, leadership, and public service have been recognized globally through numerous prestigious honors. In 2007, she received the L’Oreal–UNESCO Prize for Women in Science, followed by the African Union Commission Award for Women in Science in 2009. She ranked first among the Top 100 Women in Africa in both the 2017 and 2019 Forbes lists. In recognition of her commitment to advancing science and technology, she was appointed Honorary President of the International Engineering & Technology Institute in 2020.
On 05 June 2015, she was sworn in as the 6th President and the First Female President of the Republic of Mauritius and completed her term in 2018. She has also been recognized nationally by the Government of Mauritius, which elevated her to the rank of Commander (CSK) and subsequently Grand Commander (GCSK) of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean, the country’s highest civilian distinctions. Internationally, she was awarded the Order of St. George at the Semperopernball in Dresden, Germany, and in 2019 received the Trailblazing Award for Political Leadership from the World Women Leaders Council in Iceland.