Abdullah Bishara

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Abdullah Bishara
عبد الله بشارة
Abdullah Yaccoub Bishara, Kuwait UN Ambassador United Nations, New York (cropped).jpg
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 (age 85)
Kuwait
NationalityKuwaiti
Children2
Alma materCairo University
St John's University
ProfessionDiplomat

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 (GCC).

Early life and education[]

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

Career[]

Bishara worked as a teacher from 1959 to 1961.[2] 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.[2] From 1964 to 1971 he was the director of the office of the minister of foreign affairs in Kuwait.[2] Then he was appointed Kuwait's permanent representative to the United Nations, and served in this post from 1971 to 1981.[1][2]

Bishara was the first secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council where he served from 26 May 1981 to April 1993.[4][5] His assistant secretaries at the GCC were Saif bin Hashil Al Maskari from Oman and Abdullah Ibrahim Al Kuwaiz from Saudi Arabia.[6] Maskari was responsible for political affairs while Kuwaiz was in charge of economic matters.[6] Bishara resigned from office in the late 1992, and his resignation was accepted at the GCC summit held in Abu Dhabi in December 1992.[7] An Emirati diplomat Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi replaced him as secretary-general of the GCC.[8]

In 1997, Bishara retired from civil service.[9] However, at the beginning of the 2000s he served as a senior advisor to Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed.[10] 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.[1] He was also named president of diplomatic centre for strategic studies.[3] He is the coordinator of the Kuwaiti – British friendship society.[3] In addition, Bishara became a board member and an advisor to North Africa Holding (NorAH) in 2006.[3]

Personal life[]

Bishara is married and has two children.[3] He is the author of various books.[1] He also publishes articles in different newspapers.[11]

References[]

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