Iyad bin Amin Madani

Iyad bin Amin Madani
Madani in 2014
Secretary-General of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
In office
31 January 2014 – 1 November 2016
Preceded byEkmeleddin İhsanoğlu
Succeeded byYousef Al-Othaimeen
Minister of Information and Culture
In office
14 February 2005 – 14 February 2009
Prime Minister
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAbdulaziz Khoja
Minister of Hajj
In office
June 1999 – 14 February 2005
Prime MinisterKing Fahd
Preceded byMahmud Mohame
Succeeded byFoad Farsi
Personal details
Born (1946-04-26) 26 April 1946 (age 78)
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Alma materArizona State University
AwardsOrder of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
WebsiteOfficial website

Iyad bin Amin Madani (Arabic: إﻳﺎﺩ ﺑﻦ ﺍﻣﻴﻦ ﻣﺪﻧﻲ; born 26 April 1946) is a Saudi politician who served in different cabinet posts. He was the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation from 2014 to November 2016. He was the first Saudi official to hold that position.[1]

Early life and education

Madani was born in Mecca on 26 April 1946.[1][2][3] He holds a bachelor's degree in production administration, which he obtained from Arizona State University in 1969.[1][4]

Career

Madani began his career as general director in a Saudi Airlines administrative office in 1970.[3][4] Then, he joined media; he was editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette between 1976 and 1980 being the first editor of the daily.[5] At the same time he served as general director of the Okaz Organization for Press and Publication until his resignation in April 1993.[3]

He founded and headed a media and marketing consultant group, Fikra-Media and Marketing Consultants, in 1993,[2] specialized in the fields of information, communication, advertising, marketing and manpower development.

In 1997 Madani was appointed to the shoura council as a member.[2][6] He served there until June 1999 when he was appointed hajj minister.[2][6] He served in the post from 1999 to February 2005.[7][8] Next, he was appointed minister of culture and information in February 2005, replacing Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al Farsi, who in turn became Hajj minister.[9] On 1 August 2005, Madani as information minister announced the death of King Fahd on state television.[10] Madani was elected as the head of the Islamic International News Agency (IINA) and the Organization of Islamic Broadcasting in 2007.[11] He was in office as information minister until 2009 when he was replaced by Abdulaziz Al Khoja in the post.[12] During his tenure, Madani drew criticisms from Saudi clerics due to his tolerance towards the publications that were questioning the strong effects of the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia.[13][14]

Then Madani was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Knowledge Economic City in Madinah on 10 March 2012, replacing Sami Mohsen Baroum in the post.[7][15] He also served as vice president of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Foundation for housing development.[15]

In November 2012, Saudi Arabia nominated Madani to the post of secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 39th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC member states in Djibouti.[16] On 2 February 2013, Arab News reported that Madani would replace Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu as secretary-general of the OIC.[17] His appointment was officially announced after the 12th Summit of the OIC in Cairo on 8 February 2013.[5] Madani's term as secretary general of OIC was effective from January 2014.[18]

Madani resigned from the post in October 2016, citing health issues, following Egyptian complaints after he mocked Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for claiming to have had only water in his fridge for much of his life.[19][20]

Honour

Foreign honour

Recognition

Madani was awarded by the Malaysian government the prize, the Darjah Kebesaran Panglima Setia Mahkota (Knight of the Most Distinguished Order of Crown) carrying coveted title of “Tan Sri”, in March 2009 due to his efforts in reinforcing solidarity of Muslim Ummah and his significant contributions in supporting the Saudi-Malaysian ties.[22] He is also a recipient of the Certificate of Appreciation from Arab-American Chamber of Commerce (1987); Saudi Arabian Airlines Shield for 1971 Ideal Employee; a special letter of thanks and appreciation from the President of Turkey; Sash and Citation of the Second Degree from the Sultan of Oman; Ordin - Al Merio Della Republica Italiana, Italy, and the Order of Independence from the President of the Republic of Kosovo in 2020.

References

  1. ^ a b c "OIC head to hand over seat to Iyad Madani". Anadolu Agency. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Who's Who in the Arab World 2007-2008 (18th ed.). Beirut: Publitec Publications. 2011. p. 509. ISBN 978-3-11-093004-7.
  3. ^ a b c "New OIC Chief Iyad Madani". Asharq Al-Awsat. 10 February 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Bringing everyone together". Arizona State University. September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Madani elected as new OIC chief". Saudi Gazette. Cairo. 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b P K. Abdul Ghafour (13 April 2003). "Cabinet Reshuffle Likely Next Month — Report". Arab News. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Knowledge Economic City announces the appointment of the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors". Knowledge Economic City. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  8. ^ "New Ministers Take Oath". Saudi Gazette. 17 February 2005. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Cabinet reshuffle affects four ministries". Samirad. 8 February 2005. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ Rasheed Aboul Samh (4–10 August 2005). "Smooth succession". Al Ahram Weekly. 754. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013.
  11. ^ "IINA, Organization of Islamic Broadcasting boards meet in Riyadh Tuesday". The Daily Star. Riyadh. Kuwait News Agency. 26 February 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  12. ^ "Saudi king overhauls the country's leadership". Al Arabiya. Riyadh. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Saudi King reshuffles ministries". TVNZ. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Saudi woman becomes deputy minister". Al Jazeera. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Saudi- Iyad Madani likely to be next OIC secretary-general". MENAFN. Arab News. 3 February 2013. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  16. ^ "39th Session of OIC Foreign Ministers Council issues Djibouti Declaration". Embassy of Saudi Arabia. 17 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  17. ^ P. K. Abdul Ghafour (2 February 2013). "Iyad Madani set to become OIC chief". Arab News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  18. ^ Ibrahim El Redy (4 February 2013). "Iyad Madani Set to Become OIC Chief as of Jan 2014". Amwal Al Ghad. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  19. ^ "As Egypt quarrels with Saudi Arabia, it is finding new friends". The Economist. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Secretary-General of pan-Islamic bloc quits after mocking Egyptian president". The Independent. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  21. ^ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
  22. ^ Ghazanfar Ali Khan (5 March 2009). "Malaysian honor for Iyad Madani". Arab News. Riyadh. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Secretary General of the OIC
2014–2016 		Succeeded by