Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability
H.E. Ambassador Bader bin Omar Al-Dafa
H.E. Ambassador Bader bin Omar Al-Dafa has been the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability since 2021. He is also the Executive Director of the Global Dryland Alliance (GDA), a Qatar-based international organization dedicated to food security in dryland countries, and served as Commissioner-General of Expo 2023 Doha from 2022 to 2024.
Academic Qualifications
- Master's degree in International Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University, United States of America
- Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Economics, Western Michigan University, United States of America
Work Experience
- Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change and Sustainability Since 2021
- Executive Director, Global Dryland Alliance (GDA)
- Commissioner-General, Expo 2023 Doha 2022 – 2024
- UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) 2007 – 2010
- Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States and Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States (OAS)
- Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Russia, France, Egypt and Spain
- Non-resident Ambassador to Switzerland, Greece, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Mexico
- Director of the Department of European and American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Awards and Honours
- Ordre national du Mérite, French Republic
Other Participations
- Member of the Cultural Development Center, Qatar Foundation
- Vice President of the Qatar Heritage and Identity Center
- Played a key role in organizing conferences on interfaith dialogue, free trade and democracy
- As Ambassador to the United States, promoted Qatar–US relations and access to education and the arts in the Arab-American community and among other US minorities, contributing to the establishment of the first Arab-American museum, in Michigan
Personal Information
- Languages: Arabic, English and Spanish
- Interests: reading, painting and music
- Married, with three children (a son and two daughters)