Mohammed Saeed Al-Jaber (Arabic: محمد سعيد آل جابر; born 1970) is a Saudi diplomat and politician. He has been the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Yemen since 2014.[1] He also serves as the General Supervisor of the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen.[2]
Mohammed Saeed Al-Jaber | |
|---|---|
| محمد سعيد آل جابر | |
| Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Yemen | |
| Assumed office 1 September 2014 | |
| Monarch | Salman |
| Preceded by | Ali Mohammed Al-Hamdan |
| General Supervisor SDRPY | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2018 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1970 (age 53–54) Aser, Saudi Arabia |
Early life and education
editAl-Jaber was born in 1970 in Asir, southern Saudi Arabia. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration with First-Class Honors from King Abdulaziz University. Additionally, he obtained a Master's in Military Science from the Saudi Armed Forces Command and Staff College, graduating at the top of his class with the Sword of Honor.[3] He also studied strategic analysis in the US and planning psychological operations in the UK.[4]
Career
editAl-Jaber is a diplomat and strategist. He has served as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen since 2014, having been appointed just 10 days before the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sana'a, in September 2014.[2] His appointment came during a period of significant tension and instability in Yemen.[5] He quickly became involved in the Kingdom's efforts to back international peace initiatives related to Yemen, working closely to support the efforts of UN special envoys to Yemen, including Jamal Benomar, Ismail Ould Cheikh, Martin Griffiths, and Hans Grundberg.[6]
Al-Jaber led the Saudi delegation during the Geneva Consultations on Yemen peace talks in 2015, as well as the Yemen peace talks in Kuwait in 2016. Later, he participated in the 2018 Stockholm talks and supported the 2022 UN-brokered truce and ceasefire efforts in Yemen. He also oversaw numerous political and diplomatic initiatives related to the Yemeni crisis. In 2023, he led mediation efforts between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia, and in a significant and courageous move, he visited Sana'a for the first time since 2014 to meet with Houthi officials.[7][8] After two years of mediation and negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, a roadmap was agreed upon by both parties.[9][10]
Prior to leading the Saudi diplomatic mission in Yemen, he held roles as a military attaché in Yemen and Djibouti.[3] He had been entrusted with various political, strategic planning, negotiation issues. He also headed the Strategic Analysis Department at the Saudi Ministry of Defense and was a former lecturer at the Armed Forces Institute of Intelligence and Security. Additionally, he represented the Saudi Ministry of Defense in the quadrilateral border security dialogue held in the United States.[1]
On the humanitarian front, Al-Jaber played a key role in overseeing Saudi and Gulf relief operations in Yemen in January 2015, two months before the Houthis overthrew the Peace and Partnership Agreement and placed the-President Hadi and government officials under house arrest in Sana’a. From 2017 to 2018, he served as the executive director of the Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations in Yemen. In 2018, he spearheaded the establishment of the SDRPY, leading a team of Saudi experts and specialists to design SDRPY's development strategy. Al-Jaber continues to serve as the General Supervisor of the SDRPY since 2018.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Riyadh appoints ambassador to Yemen". Asharq Awsat (in Arabic). 12 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber, Saudi ambassador to Yemen". Arab News. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ a b "معلومات عن السفير | المملكة العربية السعودية - وزارة الخارجية" [Information about the ambassador - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. embassies.mofa.gov.sa (in Arabic). Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "FaceOf: Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber". Arab News. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Al-Baydhani, Saleh (28 May 2017). "محمد آل جابر رجل المهمات الصعبة في وقت ومكان عصيبين" [Mohammad Al Jaber: The Man of Difficult Missions in Challenging Times]. Al-Arab (in Arabic).
- ^ a b "General Supervisor | Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen". SDRPY. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Saudi diplomat: Talks with Houthis aim to revive Yemen truce". AP News. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Saudi delegation in Yemen for peace talks with Iran-backed Houthi rebels". France 24. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Update on efforts to secure a UN roadmap to end the war in Yemen". OSESGY. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Statement by the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen". OSESGY. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.