Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani
| Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani | |
|---|---|
| Arabic: عبد اللطيف بن راشد الزياني | |
 | |
| Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council | |
|
Assumed office 1 April 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Attiyah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain |
| Nationality | Bahraini |
| Alma mater | Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
| Occupation | Military officer; University professor |
| Religion | Islam |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Bahrain |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Bahraini Army |
| Years of service | 1973 – 2010 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani (Arabic: عبد اللطيف بن راشد الزياني, English 
pronunciation ) is a Bahraini engineer and retired lieutenant general. He has been the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since 1 April 2011.[1] He is the fifth GCC secretary general and the first with military background since the GCC established.
Early life and education
Zayani was born in Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain.[1] He graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.[2] He is also a graduate of the aeronautical engineering program, Perth Scotland (1978).[1] He received a master's degree in logistics management from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio, in 1980.[2] He also received a PhD in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California in 1986.[2] He attended command and general staff courses in Fort Leavenworth Kansas in 1988 and received the sword of honor along with the title of Master Logistician from the US Army.[2] Later, he attended leaders in development program at Harvard University in 2008.[3]
Career
Zayani had work experience in Bahraini defence forces, in ministerial posts as well as in university. He became a commissioned officer in the Bahrain Defence Force in 1973.[4] His career at the Bahraini defence forces ended on 2 June 2004. Then he began to serve as the chief of public security as a major general at interior ministry in 2004.[5] He promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2010.[3] Next, he was appointed adviser to the minister of foreign affairs in the rank of minister on 10 June 2010.[2][6] He also worked as a lecturer at Arabian Gulf University, and as mathematics and statistics professor at the University of Maryland in Bahrain, and as a quantitative methods professor at the University of Bahrain.[1]
On 1 April 2011, Zayani was appointed secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council.[4] Initially, Bahrain nominated another candidate, Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Mutawa, for the post.[7][8] However, due to Qatar's strong objection to him, Zayani was later nominated by Bahrain for the post in May 2010.[9][10] Zayani replaced Abdul Rahman Al Atiyyah in the post.[11]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "People". GULF Research Center. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani takes over as GCC secretary general". Bahrain News Agency. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- 1 2 "CV of Zayani" (PDF). European Parliament. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
- 1 2 "Speaker Bio". CEMC. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
- ↑ "Bahrain to host top security forum". Trade Arabia. Manama. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "HRH prince Salman receives Zayani". Bahrain News Agency. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "Saudi Arabia to mediate in Bahrain-Qatar row". Al Arabiya. Riyadh. Reuters. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ Toumi, Habib (2 November 2010). "Bahrain announces new government". Gulf News. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
- ↑ "Bahrain names Al Zayani as next GCC chief". Gulf News. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "Al Zayani is nominated as GCC secretary-general". Gulf Daily News. Manama. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "Qatar to nominate diplomat for Arab League chief". Daily News Egypt. Cairo. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2013.