Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja

Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja
Minister of Culture and Information
In office
14 February 2009 – November 2014
Prime Minister King Abdullah
Preceded by Iyad bin Amin Madani
Personal details
Born 1940 (age 74–75)
Mecca
Nationality Saudi Arabian
Alma mater King Saud University
Birmingham University
Religion Islam

Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja (born 1940) is the former Saudi ambassador and he served as the minister of culture and information between 2009 and 2014.

Early life and education

Khoja was born in Mecca in 1940.[1] He obtained bachelor of science degree from King Saud University. Then he earned a master of science degree in organic chemistry in Birmingham University in 1967.[2] He also holds a PhD in organic chemistry at Birmingham University in 1969.[1]

Career

Khoja was appointed dean of the faculty of education in Mecca in 1979[1] and his term lasted until 1984.[2] Then he served as the undersecretary for information affairs at the ministry of information from 1984 to 1991.[2] Later, he served as a Saudi ambasssador to various countries, including Turkey (1991), Russia and Morocco.[1] He was also Saudi ambassador to Lebanon[3] and was in office from 2004 to 2009. During this period of time, King Abdullah's foreign policy towards Lebanon was highly intense and also seen as an interventionist approach.[4] On 14 February 2009, Khoja appointed minister of culture and information, replacing Iyad bin Amin Madani who had been in office since February 2005.[1][5] Khoja's appointment was regarded as part of King Abdullah's reform initiatives.[6]

His term as the minister of culture and information ended in November 2014 when he was fired from the office.[7] Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Khudairi replaced him in the post on 8 December 2014.[8]

Khoja is considered to be a relative liberal and close to the King Abdullah.[4] Khoja is also a poet. However, some of his works are banned in Saudi Arabia, although he himself is the minister of culture and information.[9]

Other positions

Khoja is the chairman of the General Assembly of Makkah Establishment for Publishing and Printing, publisher of Al Nadwa.[10] He is also the chairman of the International Islamic News Agency (IINA) Executive Council.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Profiles". Saudi Gazette. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Biographies of Ministers". Saudi Embassy Washington DC. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Black, Ian (7 December 2010). "WikiLeaks cables: Syria stunned by Hezbollah assassination". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 Christopher Boucek (June 2009), "Saudi Arabia’s king changes the guard" (PDF), Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst (Carnegie Endowment), archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2010, retrieved 5 May 2012
  5. ↑ "14th February 2005 - Saudi Cabinet Meeting". SAMIRAD. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Saudi King appoints first woman to council". CNN. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Saudi names new health minister to combat MERS virus". Daily Mail. AFP. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "King Abdullah names new ministers". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington DC. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Labonté, Hanna (23 August 2010). "Saudi Man of Letters and Cautious Reformer". Qantara. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "King Holds al-Safa Reception". Saudi Press Agency. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "IAAs BNA Elected as IINA Executive Council Member". Bahrain News Agency. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
Political offices
Preceded by
Iyad bin Amin Madani		 Minister of Information and Culture
2009 		Succeeded by
Incumbent


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