Sheika Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa was appointed Minister of Information in Bahrain in 2009; she was the first woman to become the Information Minister in Bahrain. She is the Chairperson of the Board of the
Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage and the former President of the
Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. She served as the Minister of Culture of
Bahrain. In 2014 in the
Forbes Middle East list of most powerful Arab women she was listed as number six. She visited the February 2014 and proposed plans to renovate it. As the culture minister she has worked to encourage artists in Bahrain. Her daughter,
Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, became Bahrain's Director General of Culture and Arts. In the
World Monuments Fund’s 50th Anniversary on 21 October 2015 in
New York City, Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa was awarded the Watch Award for her role in preserving the monuments and culture of Bahrain. In 2017 she was made the Special Ambassador of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In 2020, Sheika Mai was nominated by the
Government of Bahrain as Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization. In January 2021, incumbent Secretary General
Zurab Pololikashvili won the election at the 113th session of the Executive Council. In 2023, Sheika Mai was dismissed from her position as the President of the
Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. According to the
Middle East Eye and
Doha News, she refused to shake hands with the Israeli
ambassador to Bahrain. Following this event, which happened in the United States ambassador
Steve C. Bondy’s residence, the
King ordered her removal from office. ==Publications==