Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa (born 24 April 1960) is a

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

i diplomat who served as Bahrain's

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 2005 until January 2020. Khalid became only the second foreign minister in Bahrain's history after replacing Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa who then became Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain.

Early life and education

Khalid bin Ahmed was born on 24 April 1960. He received a bachelor's degree in history and political sciences from St. Edward's University in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, in 1984.

Career

Khalid bin Ahmed joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain at the rank of third secretary on 1 March 1985. Between August 1985 and November 1994 he worked at Bahrain's embassy in Washington, D.C., where he was in charge of political, congressional, and media affairs. From June 1995 to August 2000 he worked as a chief liaison officer at the office of the deputy prime minister, minister of foreign affairs; responsible for the maritime delimitation and territorial dispute between Bahrain and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, in addition to other tasks. In August 2000, he assumed the position of the director of public relations and information at the court of the Crown Prince. He was Ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 2001 to 2005, and was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in a September 2005 cabinet reshuffle. His predecessor as foreign minister, Muhammad ibn Mubarak ibn Hamad Al Khalifah, had served in that position for over 30 years. His deputy until 2011 was Nazar Al Baharna, formerly a leading member of Al Wefaq, Bahrain's main Shia opposition party. In May 2018 he expressed his support of Israeli airstrikes in Syria against Iranian targets, saying "it is the right of any country in the region, including Israel to defend itself by destroying sources of danger". On 14 February 2019, Khalid bin Ahmed said that Israelis and Palestinians would be closer to a peace agreement if not for Iran's malign behavior. He said he grew up thinking that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the most important issue in the region, but now he sees that the "more toxic" challenge in the region is the Islamic Republic of Iran. During a 25–26 June economic conference in Manama arranged by Jared Kushner to attract investors to the Palestinian territories, Khalid told Israel's channel 13: "Israel is part of this heritage of this whole region, historically, so the Jewish people have a place amongst us". The

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

boycotted the two-day economic conference due to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

's perceived Israeli bias.

Honors and awards

He was awarded the Bahrain Second Class Medal by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in May 2001 in recognition of his contribution and role as a Liaison Officer during the territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar.Minister of Foreign Affairs Biography
,''Ministry of Foreign Affairs''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khalifa, Khalid Ahmed al 1960 births Living people Khalid Ahmad St. Edward's University alumni Foreign ministers of Bahrain Ambassadors of Bahrain to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Bahrain to Sweden People from Manama

Early life and education

Career

Honors and awards

See also

References

External links