Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari

Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari
Minister for Culture, Arts and Heritage of Qatar
In office
July 1, 2008 – February 2016
Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani
Adviser at the Amiri Diwan (Royal Palace of Qatar)
Assumed office
February 2016
Personal details
Born (1948-01-01) 1 January 1948
Al Ghariyah, Qatar
Nationality Qatar
Alma mater Faculty of Dar al-Ulum,
Saint Joseph University,
Stony Brook University.

Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari (born January 1, 1948 in Al Ghariyah, Qatar) is a Qatari diplomat and statesman. Dr. Al-Kawari serves as an Adviser at the Amiri Diwan (Royal Palace of Qatar), and was formerly the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage of Qatar (2008-2016). He was previously the Ambassador of Qatar to France, the United States, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the UN. Dr. Al-Kawari is a candidate in next election of the Director-General of UNESCO, to take place in autumn 2017.[1] He is married and the father of three children.

Biography

Education

Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari holds a Bachelor's degree in Arabic and Islamic studies from Cairo University (Faculty of Dar al-Ulum), which he obtained in 1970. He also holds a Master's Degree Diploma from Saint Joseph Jesuit University in Beirut which he attended between 1974 and 1977. He then studied Political philosophy at La Sorbonne in Paris in 1980 and completed a PhD in Political science at the Stony Brook University (New York) in 1990. He speaks Arabic, English and French.

Career

Early career and diplomacy

Between 1972 and 1974, he started his diplomatic career as chargé d'affaires in Lebanon. He was appointed ambassador of Qatar in Syria from 1974 to 1979 then in France (1979–84). During that time he was also non-resident ambassador in Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. From 1984 to 1990, he was Qatar's ambassador to the United Nations while also running the non-resident embassies to Argentina, Brazil and Canada. He was then appointed ambassador to the United States (1990–92) and non-resident ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela.

Ministerial functions

Dr Hamad Al-Kawari was appointed Qatar’s Minister of Information and Culture in 1992. Between 1992 and 1996 he brought an end to censorship regulations on newspapers and publications, and in 1997 closed the doors of the Ministry of Information.

This initiative expanding the freedom of information would eventually lead to the creation of the Doha Centre for Media Freedom in 2007.

He was appointed Minister for Culture, Arts and Heritage on July 1, 2008. He was the first person to ever hold this position. In 2010 he presided at the 17th Conference of Arab Ministers of Culture.

Whilst in office, Doha was named the 2010 Arab Capital of Culture.[2]

2012 marked the launch of the "Year of Culture" initiative, launched to foster cooperation and exchanges between Qatar and other partner countries. Partners include the United Kingdom (2012), Japan (2013), Brazil (2014), Turkey (2015), China (2016) and Germany (2017).[3] This project is a collaboration between the two main Qatari cultural institutions, the Qatar Museums Authority and the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. The board is co-chaired by Sheikha Al-Mayassa Al Thani and Dr Hamad Al-Kawari.

In February 2016, Dr. Al-Kawari was named as an Adviser at the Amiri Diwan (the Royal Palace of Qatar).

Functions in International Organisations

From 1979 to 1984, he was the Ambassador to France as well as the reprensentant for Qatar at UNESCO.

During his tenure as Ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1990, Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari also represented Qatar as official delegate to the UN for the country. During that time, he was simultaneously elected Deputy Chairman of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its fortieth session and Chairman of the Special Political Committee (4th Committee) at its 42nd session.

In 1987, he was elected Vice President of the Committee Against Apartheid and Member of the Trustee board of directors of the "Dag Hammarskjöld" Commemoration.[4] He has also represented Qatar at the conferences of the Non-Aligned Movement. From 1997 to 2014, he was member of the Advisory Board of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).[5]

In 2012, he presided at the UNCTAD XIII 2012 (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). In September 2012, Dr Hamad Al-Kawari was elected Honorary Chairman of the 25th Universal Postal Congress.[6]

Passionate about the French language and culture, he presided over Qatar's delegation to l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012, which accepted Qatar as an associated member in the Organisation.[7]

Other functions

Distinctions

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Osman, Mohammed. "Al Kuwari is candidate for Unesco's top post". The Peninsula. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  2. ↑ QATAR: Doha gladly takes on responsibility as 2010 Arab Capital of Culture, ITN Source, February 8, 2010
  3. ↑ Qatar Museums, Qatar museums
  4. ↑ Special Political Committee Holds Hearing on South Africa's Apartheid Policy, UN, November 12, 1987
  5. ↑ GCC ministers back Qatar bid for top Unesco post, the Peninsula, October 16, 2015
  6. ↑ Address by Mr Edouard Dayan, Secretary General at the opening ceremony, Universal Postal Union, September 24, 2012
  7. ↑ l'OIF à la 13ème conférence de la CNUCED, Francophonie.org
  8. ↑ National Competitiveness Council, qataribusinessmen.org, April 2008
  9. ↑ "Top Italian university honours al-Kuwari". Gulf Times.
  10. ↑ "Dr Hamad Al Kuwari named 'Man of the Arab Heritage'". The Peninsula.
  11. ↑ Allocution de S.E. Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Ministre de la Culture, des Arts et du Patrimoine du Qatar (2 février 2014), ambafrance, February 3, 2014

Notes : The two following links (official biography from Qatar government) contain all the information about the Minister's education, early career and diplomacy, and the beginning of his ministerial functions.

See also

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