Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah (Arabic: خالد بن محمد العطية; born 9 March 1967) is a Qatari politician who was minister of foreign affairs from June 2013 to January 2016. He has been minister of state for defense since January 2016.[1]
Al Attiyah was born on 9 March 1967.[2] His family belongs to the Banu Tamim tribe to which the ruling family of Qatar, the House of Thani, also belong.[3] His father was the founder of the Qatar Armed Forces.[4]
He received a bachelor's degree in air science from King Faisal Air Academy in 1987 and also, a law degree from Beirut Arab University in 1993.[5] He holds a master's degree in public law (1991) and a PhD in law (2006), both of which he received from Cairo University.[5]
Al Attiyah started his career as a fighter pilot and joined Qatar's air force where he served from 1987 to 1995.[2] He left the air force and established a law firm in 1995.[5] From 2003 to 2008, he served as the president of the National Committee for Human Rights.[2] During the same period he also owned a law firm.[4]
Then Al Attiyah served as the minister of state for international cooperation from 2008 to 2011.[5] During his tenure he also served as acting minister for business and trade.[6] In 2009, he became a member of Silatech's board of trustees.[5] He is also a member of the board of directors and chairman of the executive committee of the Diar company, and a member of the board of directors of the Qatar electricity and water company.[7]
In a cabinet reshuffle in September 2011, Al Attiyah was appointed as minister of state for foreign affairs in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani.[8][9] On 26 June 2013, Al Attiyah was named as the minister of foreign affairs in a cabinet reshuffle.[10] He replaced Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani in the post.[11] The cabinet is headed by Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani.[12]
In a cabinet reshuffle on 27 January 2016, Al Attiyah was replaced as minister of foreign affairs by Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.[13][14] In the same reshuffle Al Attiyah was appointed as minister of state for defense.[13][14]