SENIOR APPOINTMENTS UNDERSCORE AL-MAHMOUD

C O N F I D E N T I A L DOHA 000007 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2020 TAGS: PGOV PINR PINB QA SUBJECT: SENIOR APPOINTMENTS UNDERSCORE AL-MAHMOUD INFLUENCE AT MFA Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b and d). -------------- (SBU) KEY POINTS -------------- -- In December, the MFA announced the appointment of several senior Ministry officials. -- The list includes new Directors in Asian and African Affairs, and the Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences. -- The above individuals are among those having experience working closely with MFA Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Al Mahmoud. -------------- (C) COMMENTS -------------- -- Al Mahmoud is Qatar's "de facto Foreign Minister" and oversees the day-to -day operations of the MFA. He is also the driving force behind Qatar's diplomatic mediation efforts in Darfur. That most of those promoted into senior positions have close ties to him affirms his steady grip on the MFA. End Key Points and Comments. ¶1. (SBU) In December, the MFA announced the appointment of several officials to key positions within the ministry. Several of those officials, including the new head of Asian and African Affairs Zayed bin Rashid Al Naemi, have worked in the office of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Al Mahmoud. Al Naemi previously served as Ambassador to South Africa and in Al Mahmoud's office at the MFA, where he was responsible for Darfur mediation issues. His deputy in Asian and African Affairs will be Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Mohannadi, formerly of the MFA Media Department. ¶2. (SBU) Other officials with close ties to Al Mahmoud received promotions, including Yousef bin Khalifa Al Sada, who will serve as the Director in the Department of International Organizations and Conferences. Al Sada served previously in Al Mahmoud's office, in addition to assignments in Senegal and Indonesia. Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Marri, another alumnus of Al Mahmoud's office, will be the new Director of the Department of Research and Analysis and Information Technology. He served previously at Qatar's embassy in Khartoum. Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Suwaidi, who served in Bangkok as well as Al Mahmoud's office in the MFA, will be the new Director of the Office of the Training and Development of Human Resources. ¶3. (SBU) Other appointments include: Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Fakroo, previously Assistant Director of the Permanent Committee for Organizing Conferences, to be Executive Director of the Committee; Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Hajji to be Assistant Director of Arab Affairs; Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Dehaimi, an expert in human rights formerly at the Qatari Embassy in Switzerland, to be Assistant Director of European and American Affairs; and Shaykh Mohammed bin Yousef bin Jassim Al Thani to be Assistant Director of the Office of Human Rights. ¶4. (SBU) The MFA also announced the appointment of three individuals to serve as Acting Directors of various administrative departments: Jassim bin Ali Obaidli in the Department of Legal Affairs; Saeed bin Mohammad Al Tamimi in the Department of Administration and Finance; and Abdul Rahman bin Saad Al Sulaiti in the Office of Oversight and Scrutiny. LeBaron