Becoming the first woman to preside over a parliament in the Arab world, H.E. Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi was elected Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC) on November 2015. Earlier, she made history as the first female member of the FNC in 2006, the first woman to become its Deputy Speaker in 2011 and the first woman to chair an FNC meeting in 2013. Prior to her election as Speaker of FNC, she held the position of Director General at the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). Under her leadership, ADEC won two awards from the government of Abu Dhabi for excellence in government performance - for Best Knowledge Management and for Best Improvement in Performance.

Throughout her distinguished career, H.E. Dr Amal Al Qubaisi has overseen several institutions in various key capacities. As an active member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, she was the first woman on the Council's Executive Committee as well as Chair of its Social Development Committee. In addition, H.E. Dr Al Qubaisi sits on the board of key institutions, such as the Family Development Foundation and the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. Her Excellency also was a board member of Zayed University and a jury panelist for the Zayed Future Energy Prize. A passionate campaigner for social and humanitarian causes including women's rights, H.E. Dr Al Qubaisi was the first UAE woman member of the IPU and representative of the Arab Group in the Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians. She has also been active on IPU's Governing Council and Third Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights.