Abdullah Bishara

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

Abdullah Bishara
عبد الله بشارة
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 Yaccoub Bishara

(1936-11-06) 6 November 1936
Kuwait
NationalityKuwaiti
ChildrenTwo
Alma materCairo University
St John's University
ProfessionDiplomat

Early life and education

Bishara was born on 6 November 1936.[1][2] He graduated from Cairo University in 1959.[2][3] He attended Balliol College, Oxford University, and studied diplomacy and international relations.[4] Later he earned a master's degree in political science from St. John's University in the United States.[4]

Career

Bishara worked as a teacher from 1959 to 1961.[3] Then he joined foreign ministry of Kuwait and served as second secretary for political affairs at Kuwait's embassy in Tunisia from 1963 to 1964.[3] From 1964 to 1971 he was the director of the office of the minister of foreign affairs in Kuwait.[3] Then he was appointed Kuwait's permanent representative to the United Nations, and served in this post from 1971 to 1981.[2][3]

Bishara was the first secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) where he served from 26 May 1981 to April 1993.[1][5][6] His assistant secretaries at the GCC were Saif bin Hashil Al Maskari from Oman and Abdullah Ibrahim Al Kuwaiz from Saudi Arabia.[7] Maskari was responsible for political affairs while Kuwaiz was in charge of economic matters.[7] Bishara resigned from office in the late 1992, and his resignation was accepted at the GCC summit held in Abu Dhabi in December 1992.[8] An Emirati diplomat Fahim bin Sultan Qasimi replaced him as secretary-general of the GCC.[9]

In 1997, Bishara retired from civil service.[10] However, at the beginning of the 2000s he served as a senior advisor to then Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed.[11] 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 Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[2] He was also named president of diplomatic centre for strategic studies.[4] He is the coordinator of the Kuwaiti – British friendship society.[4] In addition, Bishara became a board member and an advisor to North Africa Holding (NorAH) in 2006.[4]

Personal life

Bishara is married and has two children.[4] He is the author of various books.[2] He also publishes articles in different newspapers.[12]

References
  1. "Bishara, Abdullah". Rulers. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  2. "GCC strategy on Iran". WikiLeaks. 5 February 2002. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. "Abdullah Yaccoub Bishara". Gale Encyclopedia of Biography. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  4. "Board of Directors". North Africa Holding Company. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  5. Habib Toumi (29 November 2009). "Oman endorses Al Mutawa". Gulf News. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  6. 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.
  7. John Christie (July–August 1990). "GCC. The Next Decade". Saudi Aramco World. 41 (4). Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  8. Malcolm C. Peck (2010). The A to Z of the Gulf Arab States. Scarecrow Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-8108-7636-1.
  9. "GCC agrees to bolster joint force". New Straits Times. Abu Dhabi. 25 December 1992. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  10. "Profiles". ECSSR. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  11. "Shaykh Sabah's Ambitious Agenda". Wikileaks. 22 November 2003. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  12. "The New Plan". Arab Times. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
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