Abdelkader Lecheheb, sometimes written as Lachheb, (; 13 July 1954 – 10 November 2024) was a Moroccan diplomat and

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who was the Moroccan ambassador to Russia. He presented his credentials to

Russian President The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

on 29 May 2009.

Football career

Born in

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

, Lecheheb played football in his youth. He began playing with local sides USM Oujda and

MC Oujda Mouloudia Club of Oujda (), commonly abbreviated to MC Oudja, is a Moroccan football club based in Oujda. Mouloudia, which closely translates to "birth" in Arabic, was named after the coincidence of the day of its creation: on March 16, 1946 ( ...

before moving to

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

where he played for

Wydad Casablanca Wydad Athletic Club (, ), often known outside Morocco as Wydad Casablanca, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that competes in Botola, the top tier of the Moroccan football ...

. Lechebeb scored 23 goals to lead Wydad to the 1975–76

Botola The Botola Pro (), officially known as the Botola Pro Inwi for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Morocco and the top tier of the Moroccan football league system. Organized by the Ligue Nationale de Football Prof ...

title. He finished playing football with a club in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Lecheheb made 15 appearances for the Morocco national team.

Diplomatic career

Lecheheb earned degrees in law, and then received a doctorate in international relations in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. He represented

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Switzerland before being appointed Abdellatif Filali's chief of staff in 1994. In 1998, he became Morocco's ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He would be appointed ambassador to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

before assuming the role of ambassador to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

until 2019.

Death

Lecheheb died on 10 November 2024, at the age of 70.Décès de Abdelkader Lecheheb, ancien Lion de l’Atlas et diplomate marocain

References

1954 births 2024 deaths Moroccan men's footballers Morocco men's international footballers MC Oujda players Wydad AC players Ambassadors of Morocco to Russia Ambassadors of Morocco to Canada Ambassadors of Morocco to Japan People from Oujda Men's association football players not categorized by position 20th-century Moroccan sportsmen {{morocco-footy-bio-stub