Former Ministers of Foreign Affairs
HE Sheikh Suhaim Bin Hamad Al-Thani - Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1972.
Born in Doha in 1933, the fifth son of Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah bin Qasim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Sheikh Suhaim assumed the position of the first foreign minister of the State of Qatar on February 23, 1972.
Sheikh Suhaim contributed to building modern Qatar, as the political arena during his reign witnessed remarkable development. He played a prominent role in local, regional, and international conferences, and was one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinian cause and Arab issues. He also played a major role in his quest for Arab consensus and unity. Sheikh Suhaim contributed greatly to raising the name of Qatar high in various Arab and international forums, and he represented the State of Qatar in the United Nations sessions and Arab and international conferences. He had personal friendship relations with many Arab leaders, especially from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
He succeeded in introducing his country to international, Arab and Islamic forums. He also had the credit for reaching an unwritten media and military truce between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, ending the tension that existed between them at that time. He did the same with Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario Front. He also contributed to the reconciliation between the Jordanian and Palestinian leadership after the rupture of the events in Jordan, known as Black September, in 1970.
HE Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saif Al-Thani - Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1978.
He was appointed as the first Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Britain. He was also appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and assigned the duties of the Acting Minister of Health. He was also appointed Minister of Justice from 1992 to 1995, and held the position of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in 1995.
HE Abdullah Bin Kahalifa Al-Attiyah - Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1989.
HE Mubarak bin Ali Al-Khater - Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1990.
He held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar in the early nineties, and he also led the Qatari diplomacy at an important stage, which was the period of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
He assumed the portfolio of the Ministry of Electricity and Water. He also held the position of Vice-Chairman of the Qatari Constitution Committee in 1999, and held the position of Chairman of the Investment Authority of the Cooperation Council.
HE Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud - Minster of State for Foreign Affairs, 1992.
He obtained a bachelor's degree in Arabic language and Islamic studies from Cairo University in 1976, and a master's degree in economics from the University of Michigan – USA in 1981.
He started his career as Third Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1976. He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the Sultanate of Oman from 1984 to 1986. He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the United States of America, and a Non-Resident Ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela from 1987 to 1989.
He was also appointed Undersecretary of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1995.
In 1996, he was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and a member of the Council of Ministers until 2011.
He held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs from 2011 to 2017. He also held the chairmanship of the board of directors of a number of institutions and bodies in the State of Qatar. He chaired a number of committees and initiatives, the most prominent of which is the official responsible for the mediation file for the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. In November 2017, he was appointed Chairman of the Qatari Shura Council.
He received several awards and honors, most notably: the Knight Medal from the President of the Italian Republic on November 11, 2007, the Medal of (Golden Honor) from the Bulgarian government on May 7, 2012, and the Humanitarian Work Award for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries from the Regional Network for Social Responsibility in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2016.
HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani – Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1992.
Sheikh Hamad was born in Doha, Qatar in 1959. He is the fifth son of Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani. His paternal grandfather is Jabr bin Mohammed Al Thani. Jabr was the younger brother of Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, the founding father of the modern-day Qatar and the country's first ruler.
(1982-1989) He held the position of Director of the Office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture from 1982 to 1989, and in 1989 he became the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture.
In 1990, he was assigned the responsibilities of the Ministry of Electricity and Water, acting for a period of two years, in addition to the tasks of his position as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, where he supervised many successful projects and promoted the agricultural sector.
He held several positions: Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Electricity and Water Company, Chairman of the Central Municipal Council, Management of the Office of Special Amiri Projects, Member of the Board of Directors of Qatar Petroleum, Member of the Supreme Council for Planning.
On September 1, 1992, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He held the position from April 3, 2007 until June 25, 2013.
From January 11, 1992 until June 25, 2013, he held several other positions: chairing the boards of directors of large companies and institutions such as Qatar Airways, the Foreign Investment Authority and the Diyar Al-Omrania Group.
He retained his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs within the cabinet formations in the years July 1995, October 1996 and January 1999.
On September 16, 2003, he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister, while retaining his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He was a member of the Supreme Defense Council which was established in 1996.
Other postions he held include: Chairman of the Permanent Qatari Committee for the Support of Jerusalem which was established in 1998, Member of the Permanent Constitution Drafting Committee which was formed in 1999, Member of the Ruling Family Council which was established in 2000, and Member of the Supreme Council for Investment of State Reserves which was established in 2000. In addition, he was one of the few foreign members of the American Council on Foreign Relations.
HE Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al-Attiyah - Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2013.
He was born on March 9, 1967. He was a pilot, businessman, and politician. He held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. He was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and a member of the Council of Ministers until he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on June 26, 2013. He held the position of Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee from 2003 to 2008. In 2008, he was appointed Minister of State for International Cooperation.
In 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and a member of the Council of Ministers. In 2013, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, until the issuance of the Amiri Order No. /1/ of 2016 to amend the formation of the Council of Ministers.
He held several positions including: Vice Chairman of the Qatar Financial Center Authority, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qatar Stock Exchange Company, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology, Member of the Board of Trustees of Silatech, Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Qatari Diar, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Foundation for Democracy, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Electricity and Water Company.
HE Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi - Minster of State for Foreign Affairs, 2016.
He holds a BA in Political Science from the United States of America in 1984. He was appointed at the Ministry as Third Secretary starting from July 11, 1984.
He was also appointed Assistant Director of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs during the period from 1988 to 1990. He was appointed Director of the Office of the Undersecretary of the Ministry from 1990 to 1994 .
He also worked at the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington from 1994 to 1997. He was Consul General at the Consulate of the State of Qatar in Houston from 1997 to 2000.
He worked as a delegate in the office of His Highness the Crown Prince at the Amiri Diwan from 2000 to 2005.
He was also appointed Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary at the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Rome, and the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in Rome from 2005 to 2013.
He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Athens from 2013 to 2016
He was also appointed Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2016.
He was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 30, 2016.
He was awarded many medals: Medal of the Senior Officer degree by His Excellency the President of the Italian Republic in 2007, Medal of Senior Officer degree awarded by His Excellency the President of the Italian Republic in 2014. He also participated in several regional and international conferences.