Abdullah Bishara

Abdullah Bishara
Bishara in 1974
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council
In office 26 May 1981 – April 1993
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Fahim bin Sultan Qasimi
Personal details
Born	Abdullah Yacoub Maayouf Bishara (1936-11-06) 6 November 1936 (age 88) Kuwait
Children	2
Alma mater	Cairo University St John's University
Profession	Diplomat
Awards	Order 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. "Abdullah Yaccoub Bishara". Gale Encyclopedia of Biography. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
2. "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. 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.