Abdullah Bishara
Bishara in 1974
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council
In office
26 May 1981 – April 1993
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byFahim bin Sultan Qasimi
Personal details
Born
Abdullah Yacoub Maayouf Bishara

(1936-11-06) 6 November 1936 (age 87)
Kuwait
Children2
Alma mater
ProfessionDiplomat
AwardsOrder of the British Empire

Abdullah Bishara (Arabic: عبد الله بشارة; born 6 November 1936) is a Kuwaiti diplomat and politician, who was the first secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Early life and education

Bishara was born on 6 November 1936.[1] He graduated from Cairo University in 1959.[1] He attended Balliol College, Oxford University, and studied diplomacy and international relations.[2] Later he earned a master's degree in political science from St. John's University in the United States.[2]

Career

Bishara worked as a teacher from 1959 to 1961.[1] Then he joined foreign ministry and served as second secretary for political affairs at Kuwait's embassy in Tunisia from 1963 to 1964.[1] From 1964 to 1971 he was the director of the office of the minister of foreign affairs in Kuwait.[1] Then he was appointed Kuwait's permanent representative to the United Nations, and served in this post from 1971 to 1981.[1]

Bishara was the first secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council which he held from 26 May 1981 to April 1993.[3][4] His assistant secretaries at the GCC were Saif bin Hashil Al Maskari from Oman and Abdullah Ibrahim Al Kuwaiz from Saudi Arabia.[5] Maskari was responsible for political affairs while Kuwaiz was in charge of economic matters.[5] Bishara resigned from office in the late 1992, and his resignation was accepted at the GCC summit held in Abu Dhabi in December 1992.[6] An Emirati diplomat Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi replaced him as secretary-general of the GCC.[7]

In 1997, Bishara retired from civil service.[8] However, at the beginning of the 2000s he served as a senior advisor to Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed.[citation needed] During the same period he was also Kuwait's member on the GCC advisory committee and an advisor in the Gulf affairs department at the ministry of foreign affairs.[1] He was also named president of diplomatic centre for strategic studies.[2] He is the coordinator of the Kuwaiti – British friendship society.[2] In addition, Bishara became a board member and an advisor to North Africa Holding (NorAH) in 2006,[2] and is an Independent Director of Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding) KSC.[9]

Personal life

Bishara is married and has two children.[2] He is the author of various books.[1] He also publishes articles in different newspapers.[10]

Awards

In June 2003 Bishara was awarded by the United Kingdom Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Abdullah Yaccoub Bishara". Gale Encyclopedia of Biography. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Board of Directors". North Africa Holding Company. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  3. ^ Habib Toumi (29 November 2009). "Oman endorses Al Mutawa". Gulf News. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  4. ^ Bob Reinalda; Kent Kille (21 August 2012). "Biographical Dictionary of Secretaries-General of International Organizations" (PDF). IO BIO Database. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013.
  5. ^ a b John Christie (July–August 1990). "GCC. The Next Decade". Aramco World. 41 (4). Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  6. ^ Malcolm C. Peck (2010). The A to Z of the Gulf Arab States. Scarecrow Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-8108-7636-1.
  7. ^ "GCC agrees to bolster joint force". New Straits Times. Abu Dhabi. 25 December 1992. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Profiles". ECSSR. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  9. ^ "KPROJ.KW Company Profile & Executives - Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding) (K.S.C.)". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  10. ^ "The New Plan". Arab Times. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Kuwaiti diplomat receives Honorary Medal from Queen of Britain". Kuwait News Agency. 21 June 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
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