First Lady Suzanne Mubarak

Suzanne Mubarak (birth name Suzanne Saleh Sabet or Thabet) (Arabic: سوزان مبارك‎) (born February 28, 1941) is married to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and is the first lady of Egypt. The daughter of an Egyptian doctor and a Welsh nurse Lily May Palmer^{citation needed}, her grandmother is a relative of Jehan Sadat.

Suzanne Mubarak was born in Al Minya Governorate, located on the Nile River about 150Km to the south of Cairo. She studied at St. Claire Heliopolis in Cairo during high school and moved on to study at the American University in Cairo. She received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science (class of 1977) and a Master's degree in Sociology of Education (1982). For her Master's degree, her topic of study was "Social Action Research in Urban Egypt: A Case of Primary School Upgrading in Boulak." She has two sons and two grandsons.

Mrs. Mubarak serves as a patron of the children's television series, Alam Simsim (Arabic for Sesame's World), Egypt's version of the American series, Sesame Street, to promote its importance in improving children's communication and reading skills.

Mrs. Mubarak is the honorary president of Rotary Clubs of Egypt, and her brother general Munir Thabet is the Rotary International district 2450 governor in 2004-2005. She received the Paul Harris fellowship several times. Her son Gamal Mubarak is also an honorary member of Rotary Clubs.

Education

• Master's degree in Sociology of Education.

Topic of thesis: "Social Action Research In Urban Egypt: A case study of primary school upgrading in Bulaq". American University in Cairo; 1982.

• B.A. in Political Sciences, American University in Cairo,1977.
• High School Diploma, St. Claire School, Heliopolis, Cairo

International and regional activities

• Keynote Speaker and Head of the Egyptian delegation to:

The United Nations World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, held in Nairobi, Kenya,1985.

• The International Symposium on Children's books, held in Cairo, November 1986. Honorary Chairperson of the Symposium.
• The Arab Regional Meeting on the establishment of the Arab Council for Children and Development, Amman, Jordan, April 1987.
• The Conference on the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, September 1987
• The 23rd Congress of the International Publishers Association, London, June 1988.
• The Conference on the Future United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Alexandria, November 1988.
• UNICEF Executive Board, 1989 Session, New York, April 1989
• Symposium on Women and Social Development: Past, Present and Future, organized by the American National Council of Negro Women, Cairo, July 1989.
• Fourth African Regional Conference on Women and Development, Nigeria, November 1989
• The World Conference on Preparing for Climate Change, Cairo, December 1989
• The International Committee for the Revival of Alexandria Library, Aswan, February 1990, Alexandria, April 1992. Chairperson of the Committee.
• The International Conference on the Board of Books for Young people (IBBY), Williamsburg, Virginia, September 1990.
• WHO International Seminar on Health as a condition for Economic Development, Accra, December 1991.
• The Summit on Economic Advancement of Rural Women, UN Geneva, February 1992.
• Second Session of the Special High-Level UN Council in charge of studying Ways and Means to Prevent Natural Disasters, New York, January 1993.
• Cairo Africa First Ladies Seminar on the Status of Women and Children in Africa, Cairo, June 1993. Chairperson of the Seminar.
• WHO Task Force on Health and Development Policies, Geneva June 1994.
• UN International Conference on Population and Development NGO Forum, Cairo, September 1994.
• Soka University Celebration, Tokyo, April 1993.
• UN University Meeting, Tokyo, April 1995.
• Rotary International Annual General Conference, Nice June 1995.
• UN Fourth International Conference on Women, Beijing, September 1995
• Lectured at St. Anthony's College, Oxford University on "Peace, Development and Women in Egypt."

International awards

• The 1989 UNICEF Executive Board conferred upon Mrs. Mubarak its highest honour, the"Maurice Pate Award", in recognition of her dedication and efforts for child survival, protection and development.
• Given the highest Award in 1989 by the Rehabilitation International Centre for her outstanding services and support to disabled children.
• Given an Honorary Fulbright Award, in recognition of her efforts in the field of child development and education,
• The "Together for Peace Foundation" bestowed upon Mrs. Mubarak "The 1992 Enrique de la Mata International Prize for Peace" in recognition of her dedication in promoting child development and alleviating the suffering of victims of natural disasters.
• The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International named Mrs. Mubarak in 1992 a "Paul Harris Fellow" in appreciation of the tangible and significant assistance for the furthering of better understanding and friendly relations between peoples of the world.
• The " Health for All Gold Medal", the highest distinction awarded by the World Health Organization, was conferred upon Mrs. Mubarak in June 1994 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to improving the quality of life of the women and children of Egypt and her personal commitment to international efforts aimed at integrating health in the development process.
• Mrs. Mubarak received the "International Book Committee, International Book Award" in April 1995 in recognition of her outstanding efforts to promote reading in Egypt.
• Soka University] bestowed upon Mrs. Mubarak its Award of Highest Honour in April 1995.
• Westminster College, New Wilmington, honoured Mrs. Mubarak with the degree of Doctor of Laws in recognition of her outstanding achievement for the people of Egypt and in causes valued by the international community.
• "The American World Book Association for Publication Award" in recognition of her role in the publication of books and her efforts in supporting the campaign of "Reading for All".
• "Award of the Arab Publishers Federation in recognition of her efforts in promoting Arab literature. Cairo, 1996.
• "The Avicenne Medal", UNESCO highest award, in recognition of her role in promoting cultural activities in Egypt, 1997."
• "Prize of Tolerance", European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Salzburg, 1998.
• "The Degree of Professor Counsellor", Shanghai University, April 1999.
• Honorary Doctor Degree", Iwa University, Seoul, Korea, for her efforts to promote women's education and social development in Egypt, April 1999.
• The "Rotary Award" for her efforts in combating polio, June 1999.
• "Honorary Doctor Degree for Humane letters", American University in Cairo, February 2000.
• "Honorary Doctor Degree", American University in Spain, in recognition of her distinctive efforts in the social field in Egypt, February 2000.

Social services

• Founder and Chairperson of the Integrated Care Society. Established in 1977, a non-profit organization with the main objective of providing social, cultural and health care to school children. The Integrated Care Society has various types of activities:

1. Cultural and Educational Activities for Children and Young People.
2. Community Services.
3. Services to the Disabled.

Other social activities

• Founder and Chairperson of the Association for the Development Services in the Community of Heliopolis.
• Founder and Chairperson of the Egyptian Society For Childhood and Development, with the "One Hundred New Schools Project" as a main objective.
• Initiator and Founder of Egyptian Children's Literature Centre for Documentation Research and Information, the first reference centre for children's literature in the Arab Region.
• Founder of the National History Museum for Children in Egypt:"the Suzanne Mubarak Museum for Children" inaugurated in June 1996.
• President of the Advisory Board to the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.
• President of the Egyptian National Women Committee, and President of the First and Second National Conference on Women (June 1994 - April 1996)
• Initiator of the unified law on children (March 1996)
• President of the Egyptian Section of the International Board of Books for Young People (IBBY)
• President of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society and initiator of the national campaign for safe blood transfusion.
• Vice President of COMEST.
• President of the National Council for Women established in February 2000.
• Founder and Chairperson of the Suzanne Mubarak(Reginoal) Center For women Health [1]

External links

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Suzanne Mubarak

• Mrs. Mubarak receiving honorary Rotary membership
• Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt.