Moza Bint Nasser

Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned (; born 8 August 1959) is one of the three consorts of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar. She is the mother of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. She is the co-founder and chair of the Qatar Foundation, the largest state-owned nonprofit organization in the country. ''The Guardian'' has labelled her "the enlightened face of a profoundly conservative regime" and that she "represents one of the world’s most repressive families".

Early life and education

Sheikha Moza is the daughter of Nasser bin Abdullah Al-Missned, a well-known opposition activist and former head of the Al-Muhannada confederation of Bani Hajer. Born in Qatar, she spent much of her childhood in Kuwait during her father's exile following imprisonment for political activities and defiance against the policies of the deposed emir Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani. Nasser returned to Qatar with his immediate family in 1977, the same year Moza married Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the heir apparent of Qatar. Sheikha Moza is the second of his three wives.

Sheikha Moza received a BA in Sociology from Qatar University in 1986, and holds a MA in Public Policy in Islam from Hamad Bin Khalifa University. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2003. She also holds honorary doctorates from Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Imperial College London, and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

She has had a major role in the opening of US universities in Education City in Doha. Dubbed, “The woman behind Doha’s Education City” as part of Qatar’s soft power strategy on Western universities.

According to a ''Los Angeles Times'' investigation published in July 2020, Sheikha Moza's son Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was accepted to the University of Southern California (USC) as a transfer student from the community college Los Angeles Mission College after she met USC president C. L. Max Nikias in 2012 in Los Angeles, California, at the behest of USC trustee Thomas J. Barrack Jr.

Areas of work and philanthropy

Sheikha Moza co-founded and chairs the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), which was set up in 1995. She has dedicated her efforts to advancing education reforms in Qatar through the QF. This non-profit organization was established by her husband the same year he assumed the role of emir. Sheikha Moza established Education Above All in 2012, aiming to make education accessible to marginalized children globally.

Sheikha Moza has been vocal in advocating for the protection of education in warzones, and Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC) was established under the auspices of Education Above All with the aim of promoting and providing education to children living in areas of conflict and war. After Qatar advocated for the establishment of 9 September as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, established by unanimous resolution of the UN General Assembly, Sheikha Moza has spoken at each observance of the Day: online in 2020 and 2021, at UNESCO in Paris in 2022, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 2023, and in Doha in 2024.

Sheikha Moza has acted as chairperson of Silatech since 2008, chairperson of the Arab Democracy Foundation, and founded the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in 1998. She was vice president of the Supreme Education Council from 2002 until 2012 and was made UNESCO's Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education in 2003, a position she resigned in November 2023, because of UNESCO's silence about the plight of Palestinian children. In 2002, she and former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani opened the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. She is a member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medicine. and chairperson of Sidra Medical and Research Center, a high-tech women's and children's hospital in Doha. She also endowed this medical center with $7.9 billion.

In 2007 and 2010, Sheikha Moza was listed as one of the '100 Most Powerful Women' by Forbes. She was also listed in the 'Top 100 most powerful Arabs' from 2013 to 2017 by ''Gulf Business''. In 2011 she placed second on the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed Women's list, and in 2015 she was named in the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List. According to ''Vogue'', she has customised haute couture designs to fit Qatari modesty rules. She has been involved with Fashion Trust Arabia (FTA), launched in September 2018, which focuses on womenswear designs.

She has said that she is not a feminist. Her EEF, Education Above All program requires non-Qatari female students who wish to study to provide a "signed consent letter and undertaking by family guardian (allowing EAA to access and confirm private information of the family)."

In 2010, she played a key role in the campaign to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She denies the accusations of Qatari corruption in the FIFA world cup process.

In 2020, A book, called, ''Pregnancy and Miscarriage in Qatar: Women, Reproduction and the State'', published the changing role of women in Qatari society and analyses how Qatari women navigate the competing expectations placed upon them, in which Sheikha Moza played an essential role in reflecting the nation as a centre of Arab modernity, availing themselves of the new opportunities in work, politics and public life.

Political role

According to reports, Sheikha Moza plays a significant role in shaping Qatar's political, social, and foreign relations as part of the country's soft power strategy. She holds considerable influence and often utilizes her public platform to express strong political opinions.

Sheikha Moza has been an important figure in the Qatar Foundation, an organization instrumental in Qatar's global outreach and image rebranding. Co-founding and chairing the foundation, she contributes significantly to fostering Qatar's international relations through initiatives such as the establishment of campuses of Western universities in Qatar. This aligns with Qatar's broader strategy of building connections with Western states through philanthropy and educational partnerships. Sheikha Moza's influence is evident in the nation's strategic decisions and her active role in shaping Qatar's international image, particularly in the realms of education and humanitarian efforts.

In January 2024, a global media campaign launched, carrying the slogans "It's in your hands" and "You have the power". The campaign called on Sheikha Moza to leverage her authority to ensure the release of 136 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. This has been called a "shadow campaign" and some of the names behind have been found to be fictitious.

Sheikha Moza writes online on issues related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Actively engaging on social media, she predominantly focuses on the situation in Gaza, aligning her sentiments with Qatari policy. Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, during which Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis and abducted 245 hostages and the Israeli response that day which killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, Sheikha Moza posted a picture on her Instagram account of a man with hands on his head in front of a demolished building, accompanied by the caption: "O Allah, we entrust Palestine to you." It was reported that since then, Sheikha Moza has regularly criticized Israel on social media. She has posted on Instagram mostly about the destruction in Gaza caused by Israeli airstrikes, often posting news about the thousands of children being killed. On 9 September 2024, she published an opinion piece in Le Point on "The Human Cost of War". On October 18, 2024 she posted on X (formerly Twitter) a tweet marking the death of the militant leader of Hamas, Sinwar who was specifically designated a terrorist by the US in 2015 and killed by Israel on October 16. She wrote that, as his name means "the one who lives", his memory will live on.

Public image

Because of her multiple roles in recent Qatari history and heading the Qatar Foundation, Sheikha Moza has been referred to as "the actual ruler of Qatar".

Titles, styles, and honours

Titles and styles

Bint Nasser may be styled as "Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser".

Honours

Foreign honours

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** Grand Cross of the Order of Queen Jelena
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** Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
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** Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (SMN (K)) – Tun (2010)
*
** Dame of the Order of Muhammad
*
** Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
** Recipient of the King Willem-Alexander Inauguration Medal
*
** Grand Cross of the Order of Infante Henry
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** Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
*
** Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Foreign awards

*
** Member of the Decoration of the Smile
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** Royal Institute of International Affairs: Chatham House Prize
*
** Recipient of the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy
** Georgetown University: honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
** Carnegie Mellon University: honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
** George Bush Presidential Library: George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service
** Virginia Commonwealth University: honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
**Georgetown University President's Medal
*
** Recipient of the Hilal-e-Pakistan Civilian Award.
Moza was also recognized as one of the 100 Influential Celebrities in Oncology by OncoDaily.

Children

The royal couple has five sons and two daughters:
*Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1978) – heir apparent of Qatar until 2003.
*Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Prince of Qatar (born 1980) – heir apparent of Qatar (2003–2013), current Emir of Qatar.
*Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1983).
*Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1984) – director of the Emir's Office since 2009.
*Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1986).
*Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1988).
*Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1991).

References

External links

Official site of Moza bint NasserLunch with the FT: Sheikha Moza

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moza bint Nasser
1959 births
Living people
People from Al Khor
Qatari Muslims
Qatari women in politics
Qatari royal consorts
Qatar University alumni
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Prince Henry
Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry
Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Honorary Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Honorary grand commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
Mothers of monarchs