Professional Affiliation

Former Minister of State for the Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth, Lebanon

Expert Bio

Violette Khairallah is an entrepreneur, social activist and a former prominent journalist and political anchor host in the Middle East. She is also a former Minister of Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth in Lebanon. During her tenure as Minister, she promoted landmark legislation on women’s rights in the work environment, as well as youth empowerment via entrepreneurial programs and employment initiatives, in cooperation with the European Union, the United Nations, and the World Bank.

As a women and youth advocate, Violette founded and is the President of “Indeed Better Together." This is a non-governmental organization, which serves women and youth empowerment. Violette focuses on economic empowerment for women by implementing programs that emphasize advocacy, education, the reduction of gender inequality and the creation of better employment opportunities.

In line with these efforts, she is actively investing in start-ups to encourage young entrepreneurs who want to flourish with their business ideas. Given the current economic volatility in Lebanon, this serves as a lifeline to many families and is Violette’s strategy to foster economic empowerment in a region heavily impacted by inequality.

Violette also heads the Safadi Cultural Centre where she expanded the outreach of cultural events to be more inclusive of local demographics including age, gender and ethnicity. Violette serves the Vice President of the Autism Awareness Association. She is also a member of the International Council at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, she is a member of the Board of Trustees at Notre Dame University-Louaize in Lebanon and a former member of the Women Leadership board at Kennedy School of Government and the National Commission for Lebanese Women.

Violette holds an MA in International Affairs from King’s College London, and an undergraduate degree in International Business Management from Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon.