Mai al-Kaila

Mai Salem Hanna al-Kaila (; born 8 April 1955) is a Palestinian physician, diplomat and politician, and the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Health. She holds a PhD in public health and health administration. She chaired the Palestinian Medical Council in her capacity as health minister. She is also part of the Palestinian Authority headed by current prime minister Dr. Mohammad Mustafa.

Background Mai al-Kaila was born in Jerusalem on 8 April 1955. She received her basic and preparatory education in the schools of Birzeit, and her secondary education at the Private College in Ramallah. She studied nursing at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. She studied medicine at the University of Granada in Spain and obtained a bachelor's degree from it, then she specialized in the field of obstetrics and gynecology in the University of California, San Francisco in the United States of America and obtained a master's degree. She obtained her PhD in Public Health and Epidemiology from the University of Chile.

Career Al-Kailah worked as a resident physician at the Palestine Red Crescent Hospital in Jerusalem in the Obstetrics and Gynecology program.

Alkaila was appointed as the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Chile on 31 October 2005. She continued to serve in that role until her appointment as Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Italy on 1 October 2013. On 4 December 2016, she won the Palestinian Revolutionary Council elections, which were held during the seventh conference of Fatah, and became a member in it.

On 13 April 2019, al-Kaila took the constitutional oath before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as Minister of Health within Mohammad Shtayyeh's government, serving in that position until 31 March 2024.

Honors In 2017, Mai al-Keila was awarded a gold medal by the Norman Academy in cooperation with the Italian Air Force; this is due to her activism and defense of Palestinian human rights.