On 5 June 2015, Dr. Gurib-Fakim was sworn in as the 6th President and the First Female President of the Republic of Mauritius. She was elevated to the Order of GCSK by the Government of Mauritius and received the Legion d’Honneur from the Government of France in 2016.
Prior to joining the State House, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim held the position of Managing Director of the Centre International de Développement Pharmaceutique (CIDP) Research and Innovation as well as Professor of Organic Chemistry with an endowed chair at the University of Mauritius. Since 2001, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro Vice Chancellor (2004-2010). From 1995 to 1997, she was a member of the Mauritius Research Council as Manager for Research.
Between 2012 and 2015, Dr. Gurib-Fakim served as an Independent Director on the Board of Barclays Bank of Mauritius Ltd. From 2011 and 2013, she was appointed as the Chairperson of the International Council for Scientific Union – Regional Office for Africa. In 2007, she was elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. Two years later, she became Fellow of the Islamic Academy of Science, Jordan and the following year, the Fellow of the African Science Institute and the African Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Gurib-Fakim was the recipient of the 2007 L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science and Laureate of the National Economic and Social Council and the special prize from the CTA/NEPAD/AGRA/RUFORUM and the African Union Commission Award for Women in Science, which she received in 2009.
Dr. Gurib-Fakim earned a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Surrey, UK and a PhD from the University of Exeter. She has authored and co-edited 28 books and numerous book chapters and scientific articles in the fields of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. As a Founding Member of the Pan African Association of African Medicinal Plants, she co-authored the first ever African Herbal Pharmacopoeia.