Special Envoy of minister of foreign affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability
His Excellency Ambassador Bader Omar Al Dafa
Ambassador Al Dafa is Qatar's Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability and the Executive Director of the Global Dryland Alliance (GDA), an international organization dedicated to food security in dryland countries. He held the position of the Commissioner-General of Doha Expo 2023-
Ambassador Al Dafa served as UN Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
Al Dafa has served as Ambassador of Oatar to the United States and Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States (OAS). In this capacity, he played a special role in promoting access to education and the arts in the Arab-American community and among other US minorities.
Al Dafa has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in foreign affairs and nongovernmental services, which has included representing Qatar as Ambassador to Russia, France, Egypt and Spain. He has also served as the non-resident Ambassador to Switzerland, Greece, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Mexico. Mr. A. Dafa has also served as Director of the European and American Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He was also a member of Qatar Foundation's Cultural Development Center and Vice President of the Qatar Heritage and Identity Center. He played key role in organizing inter-faith, free trade and democracy related conferences.
Mr. Al Dafa has a master's degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Western Michigan University in the United States. He has been awarded the Ordre du Mérite from France. Ambassador Al Dafa is married and has three children. He speaks Arabic, English and Spanish and enjoys reading, painting and music.