Marzouq Ali Mohammed Al-Ghanim (, born 3 November 1968) is a former speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the second district. Al-Ghanim earned a BSc in mechanical engineering from

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

and worked for Boubyan Petrochemical Company before being elected to the National Assembly in 2006. He is the son of Ali al-Ghanim and

Faiza al-Kharafi Faiza Mohammed Al-Kharafi (; born 1946) is a Kuwaiti chemist and academic. She was the president of Kuwait University from 1993 to 2002, and the first woman to head a major university in the Middle East. She is the vice president of TWAS, the Wo ...

. He was elected

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

in 2013.

Family background

Marzouq Al-Ghanim is part of the Al-Ghanim family, which is historically dominant in Kuwait and

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 ...

. Ethnically, the Al-Ghanim family are part of the Bani Utub federation which originally founded Kuwait. The Bani Utub elite includes the Al Sabah ruling family. Marzouq Al-Ghanim's father, Ali Mohammed Thunayan Al-Ghanim is the chairman of Ali Alghanim & Sons Company, a multi-line conglomerate which includes the

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

and

Land Rover Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...

car dealership in Kuwait, and is formerly the chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His paternal uncle,

Fouad Mohammed Thunayan Alghanim Fouad Mohamad Thunayan Alghanim (Arabic: فؤاد محمد ثنيان الغانم), is a Kuwaiti businessman who is the founder and Chairman of ''Fouad Alghanim & Sons Group of Companies'', one of the largest conglomerates in Kuwait. The company ...

, is chairman of Fouad Alghanim & Sons Group of Companies, a multi-line conglomerate consisting of a number of fully and partly owned subsidiary companies based in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Marzouq Al-Ghanim's mother,

Faiza Al-Kharafi Faiza Mohammed Al-Kharafi (; born 1946) is a Kuwaiti chemist and academic. She was the president of Kuwait University from 1993 to 2002, and the first woman to head a major university in the Middle East. She is the vice president of TWAS, the Wo ...

, is a former rector of

Kuwait University Kuwait University (, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait. History Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29/1966. The university was of ...

and heir to the M. A. Kharafi & Sons conglomerate. His maternal uncle,

Jassem Al-Kharafi Jassem Al-Kharafi, (; 1940 – May 21, 2015) was a Kuwaiti oligarch who was the speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from 1999 to 2011.Saleh Ashour called in a statement for reopening Kuwait's embassy in Baghdad and for strongly supporting the government in Baghdad. But al-Ghanim said he believes that it was too early to reopen the Kuwaiti embassy in Baghdad and that this issue should wait until security situations improve. On February 8, 2008, al-Ghanim, as head of the Youth and Sports Committee, agreed reform the Kuwaiti football program in line with the recommendations of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. In November 2007,

had suspended Kuwait from all international matches because of governmental interference in the national football program. The dispute originated with Kuwait's October 9 elections for key posts in the country's soccer federation. FIFA and the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

(AFC) refused to recognise the polls. FIFA said Kuwait had ignored the two bodies' "road map" of reforms requiring them to set up an interim board to organize fresh elections and draft new guidelines to prevent governmental interference in the game. On September 28, 2008, al-Ghanim, along with MPs

Abdullah Al-Roumi Abdullah Al-Roumi (; born 1949) is a Kuwaiti politician and lawyer who served as the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Supreme Attorney General of Kuwait. Notably, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in April 2021, marking the fir ...

, Ali Al-Rashid, and

Adel Al-Saraawi Adel Al-Saraawi (; born 1962) is a former member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, representing the third district. Al-Saraawi studied accounting before being elected to the National Assembly in 2003. He is considered an Independent deputy, but ...

have proposed a draft law which suggests that the government fund Kuwaiti students' higher education at private colleges. According to the bill, the government would bear half of the expenses for students enrolled in private universities in Kuwait, excluding

. On December 28, 2008, Marzouq Al-Ghanim along with many other lawmakers protested in front of the National Assembly building against the attacks by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

on Gaza. Protesters burned Israeli flags, waved banners reading, ''"No to hunger, no to submission"'' and chanted "

Allahu Akbar Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), although the term was used in pre-Islamic Arabia ...

". Israel launched air strikes into the Gaza Strip on December 26 after a six-month ceasefire ended on December 18. In October 2017, Al-Ghanim, speaking at an

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

meeting in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

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 ...

, stated that the Israeli delegation "represents the most dangerous form of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

: state terrorism" and told the Israeli delegates to get their things and leave the hall. The Israeli delegation did leave after overwhelming applause from parliamentarians from other countries present at the meeting. On February 8, 2020, Al-Ghanim threw a copy of the US so-called "

deal of the century ''Deal of the Century'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by William Friedkin and starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver. The film follows the adventures of several arms dealers that compete to sell weapons to a South ...

" in the bin, during the emergency conference of the Arab Parliamentary Union, held in the Jordanian capital

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

. He further stressed that it "was born dead" and "should be thrown in the dustbin of history".

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanim, Marzouq Al- 1968 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Kuwait) Speakers of the National Assembly (Kuwait) Seattle University alumni

Family background

Other posts

References

Notes