Khalid bin Mohammed Al Angari (; born 1952) is a Saudi politician who served as minister of higher education between 1991 and 8 December 2014. He was the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to France between February 2016 and October 2019.

Early life and education

Angari was born in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

in 1952.Curriculum Vitae of His Excellency the Minister
Ministry of Higher Education. Retrieved 8 January 2013 He has a PhD in geography which he received from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1981, and an honorary doctorate degree from

Umm al-Qura University Umm al-Qura University (UQU; ) is a public university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The university was established as the College of Sharia (Islamic law) in 1949 during the reign of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud before being joined by new colleges and rena ...

, awarded in 2017.

Career

Angari was a faculty member at

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

. He worked there from 1981 to 1983. He was then named as the deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs where he served from 1983 to 1984. He briefly served as minister of municipal and rural affairs from 1990 to 1991. Al Angari was appointed minister of higher education by

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...

. During his tenure, he increased the number of public universities from 7 to 28, established more than 500 colleges, and led the implementation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship program. He opened a four-day, 450 person higher education fair, which was conceived to allow Saudi students opportunities to study abroad and to meet with international institutions. In 2006, Al Angari signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his Indian counterpart, Arjun Singh, which allowed Saudi students to study in India. In August 2013 Al Angari extended the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) to 2020 in an effort to improve the outcome of the Saudi education system. His term ended on 8 December 2014 when Khalid bin Abdullah Al Sabti replaced him as minister of higher education.

Ambassador to France

In February 2016 Khalid bin Mohammed Al Angari began to serve as the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to France, with the goal of increasing bilateral ties with the country, focusing on promoting tourism in Saudi Arabia, developing ties for higher education and research exchange, and strengthening counter terrorism ties. Al Angari placed an emphasis on cultural and artistic exchanges by promoting events such as the MiSK Art exposition at the

World Heritage Centre UNESCO Headquarters, or Maison de l'UNESCO, is a building inaugurated on 3 November 1958 at number 7 Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France, to serve as the headquarters for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ...

in Paris, participating in the Salon of Books in Paris, and organizing a Saudi art exposition at the Young International Artists art fair. In September 2016, he inaugurated the Saudi pavilion at the International Village of the Art of Cooking and Culture in Paris. In November 2017, Al Angari conducted a visit to the Great Synagogue of Paris. This visit was the first of its kind, and Angari was received by France's chief rabbi,

Haïm Korsia Haïm Korsia (born 27 September 1963) is the Chief Rabbi of France. He was elected by the Central Consistory. Already serving as Jewish chaplain of the French army, Korsia was also head of a rabbinical school. He was elected in June 2014 and b ...

, and the synagogue's rabbi, Moshe Sebbag. His tenure ended in October 2019.

Personal life

Al Angari is the brother-in-law of Walid Al Ibrahim. His wife is Mohdi Al Ibrahim, who is the sister of

Al Jawhara bint Ibrahim Al Ibrahim Al Jawhara bint Ibrahim Al Ibrahim () is one of the spouses of King Fahd who ruled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between 1982 and 2005 and mother of Prince Abdulaziz. Background Al Jawhara Al Ibrahim is a member of wealthy merchant Al Ibrahim fa ...

, one of King Fahd's spouses. He has eight children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Angari, Khalid Mohammed

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

1952 births Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to France Higher education ministers of Saudi Arabia Municipal affairs ministers of Saudi Arabia Academic staff of King Saud University Living people People from Jeddah University of Florida alumni Umm al-Qura University alumni