Rula Dajani Bio

Rula Dajani

Board Member
Co-Chair, Banking & Finance Sector Committee 
AmCham Abu Dhabi


Head of Government Affairs, MENA 
Citibank


Rula Dajani is a seasoned government relations and public policy strategist with 30 plus years of experience in managing organizations and leading teams. Before joining Citi, Rula was the Country Director of Amideast serving as the most senior representative in UAE. She was responsible for managing and growing the business by strategically partnering with senior UAE government officials, legislatures, foreign missions’ representatives, key multinational partners, trade unions and chambers of commerce.

Prior to this role, Rula managed numerous USAID and EU funded programs in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine, primarily engaged in designing and implementing advocacy and communication strategies for key clients including the Government of Jordan, the Arab League, International Consulting firms and prominent civil society organizations across the MENA region. In Egypt, Rula worked for the US Embassy and a key consultancy firm providing geopolitical assessments, risk mitigation and message rebutting. In Washington DC, Rula held the position of a deputy bureau chief of a major Pan Arab Satellite Channel and was responsible for programming, government relations and advocacy.

A US citizen with a passion for travel and cycling, Rula attained a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from George Mason University and was an elected board member of American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi from 2016 to 2020. She established and co-chaired the Arts, Culture, and Education Committee; is a member of the U.S.-U.A.E. Public Affairs Committee and is involved in several community organizations in the UAE, Jordan, Palestine, and Washington DC where she lived and worked. She is a single mom of one daughter, Rawan.