Leadership, Authority, Authenticity and Adaptability in Crisis

Dr. Nesreen Barwari

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Biography

Dr. Nesreen Barwari is a dedicated advocate for good governance and conflict management through education in Iraqi Kurdistan. She works across the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors to promote sustainable development and social progress in the region.

Currently, Dr. Barwari serves as a visiting lecturer of good governance and urban planning at the University of Duhok and the University of Kurdistan Hawler. In addition, she is the country representative for Friends of Waldorf Education, a humanitarian NGO that provides support to internally displaced people (refugees) and their hosting communities.

From 2003 to 2006, Dr. Barwari served as the Iraqi Minister of Municipalities and Public Works, where she was in charge of municipal services including water and sanitation. She was the only woman in the Iraqi cabinet at the time and was one of two women to hold a ministerial position in the Kurdistan Regional Government. Dr. Barwari increased the number of women in subsequent governments she was part of from 2004 to 2006 and established the quota system for Iraq representative bodies in the new constitution where no less than 25% should be elected.

Prior to her political career, Dr. Barwari worked with international organizations to provide relief and support to refugees and vulnerable populations. She worked with the International Organization for Migration following the 1991 Persian Gulf War to assist in the repatriation of refugees, and with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UN Iraq Relief Coordination Unit to coordinate relief services. She also headed the United Nations-Habitat program for resettlement, rehabilitation, and construction of Iraqi Kurdistan under the Oil for Food Program, providing shelters and services. Dr. Barwari was honored by the UN for her “outstanding commitment to the welfare of displaced and vulnerable persons in Northern Iraq,” and was the first woman and national staff to head a United Nations agency.

Dr. Barwari holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning from the University of Baghdad, a Master’s in Public Policy and Management from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a Ph.D. in Spatial Planning from the University of Dortmund. In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Dr. Barwari was selected as one of the ten distinguished women in the Arab world by the Arab League in 2004, and as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005. Read more about the lecture