Rumors circulated online that Hoda Al-Helaissi was set to be appointed as the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Norway, which if true would make her the second woman envoy after Princess Reema bint Bandar, who was appointed as Saudi ambassador to the United States of America in February earlier this year.
"There has not yet been a royal order or a decision from the Council of Ministers on this matter, nor has anyone been officially informed," Al-Helaissi told Ajel, an online newspaper.
When the fake news about the appointment of Al-Helaissi as ambassador to Saudi Arabia in Norway broke, some of her colleagues in the Shura council started congratulating her on twitter, causing the news to circulate even further. When asked about that, she replied by simply saying, "Ask them. I did not anounce or mention anything of the sort."
Nevertheless, Hoda Al-Helaissi does hail from a diplomatic background, with her father being former ambassador to Italy. She spent most of her early years between Rome and London, until she moved back to KSA in 1989. Al-Helaissi holds a master’s degree in French language and Literature from Colorado University.
She has been a member of the Shura council since 2013, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Shura, and was the first Saudi Arabian woman to be employed for Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) affiliated agencies. All throughout her career journey, Hoda Al-Helaissi was and still is a huge advocate for Saudi Arabian women, and their right to be given a seat on the table in all matters.
