Gielan Elmessiri was appointed as Representative a.i. for UN Women Lebanon in April 2023, joining the Country Team from UN Women’s Egypt country office where she served as Deputy Country Representative and Country Representative ai since 2014. 

Elmessiri has over 25 years of professional experience in gender equality, women’s empowerment, and sustainable development with a focus on advocacy and partnerships, policy analysis and coordination, programme design, and implementation. She has managed various UN Women flagship programmes, including in the areas of women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment, eliminating violence against women, and access to justice.