Fatimah Baeshen

Former Spokesperson for the Embassy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Fatimah S. Baeshen offers an insightful, sometimes comparative, glimpse into developments in the Arabian Peninsula and the United States with a strong capability to translate socioeconomic developments and cultural currencies to international audiences.

A socioeconomic strategist, Baeshen has over 17 years of experience working at the intersection of economic reform, social change, and private sector engagement having advised the private, public and NGO sectors on these areas.

In September of 2017, Baeshen was appointed Spokesperson for the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Washington, D.C. and transitioned out of the role in January of 2019. She was the first Saudi woman to hold a spokesperson post for the Kingdom’s government.

Prior to her appointment as Embassy Spokesperson, she held positions with and/or advised AON, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank, Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, the Chalhoub Group, the Saudi Ministry of Labor, the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning, and the Arabia Foundation.

She is published in several outlets including Time Magazine, Arab News, Al Arabiya, as well as, Islamic Finance News and has appeared on various news shows and outlets; ranging from Fox’s Mornings with Maria, CNN, CGTN, BBC, and PBS to MSNBC’s The Point.

Born in South Carolina and raised between Mississippi and Saudi Arabia; Baeshen obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her Master of Arts at the University of Chicago’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, where she wrote her thesis on Islamic Finance Regulation in Secular Markets.