Intissar Fakir

Intissar Fakir is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), where she focuses on the geopolitics of North Africa and the Sahel. Her work explores the intersection of political, social, and economic trends at both the national and regional levels.

Ms. Fakir has advised governments, policymakers, and corporate entities in North Africa, the EU, and the US on a variety of issues. She is a member of several advisory groups, including serving on the supervisory board of the Council for Mediterranean Diplomacy (Diplomeds) and as a board member of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC). She is also a member of the scientific council of the Elcano Royal Institute.

Before joining MEI, Ms. Fakir was a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she also served as the editor-in-chief of Sada, the bilanguage (English and Arabic) Middle East platform. She has implemented programs with various NGOs supporting political, economic, and social reform in North Africa and the Middle East. Additionally, she has provided consulting and advisory services to governments and corporations in both the US and Europe on developments in the Maghreb.

Ms. Fakir is the author of numerous reports, articles, and book chapters on the region, and her work has been published in leading foreign policy journals and newspapers in both English and Arabic.

Originally from Morocco, she holds an MA from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

She is a native Arabic and French speaker.