JEDDAH, 13 December 2005 — The newly formed board of directors for the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry appointed former Jeddah Mayor Abdullah Al-Moallimi as its new chairman. At their first meeting yesterday morning, the board, which includes four women, unanimously agreed on Al-Moallimi as their chairman and Ziad Al-Bassam and Mazin Batarji as deputies. Abdullah bin Mahfooz was chosen as the JCCI representative at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Al-Moallimi said the board would review the campaign programs presented during the elections and benefit from them in drawing the board’s strategy in its four-year session. Their second meeting will take place after Eid Al-Adha, a month from now, to look at the chamber’s activities and prepare a work plan.
In a highly competitive election that witnessed the participation of women as candidates for the first time, the twelve elected members of the new board were voted in two weeks ago.
Two women —Lama Al-Sulaiman and Nashwa Taher — were among the newly voted members, making them the first women to win in an election in the country’s history. The Ministry of Commerce appointed six other members to the board, including two women — Madawi Al-Hassoun and Olfat Qabbani — bringing the total of women on the board to four, or 20 percent. The board members are divided equally into commercial and industrial groups. Qabbani is the only woman on the industrial group.
Al-Moallimi was the mayor of Jeddah before Adel Fakeeh was appointed to replace him. Fakeeh was chairman of JCCI before being appointed mayor.
