Abdelouahed Belkeziz, (; ar, عبد الواحد بلقزيز; 5 July 1939 – 19 October 2021) was a Moroccan lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He served as the eighth Secretary-General of the

Organisation of the Islamic Conference An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fro ...

(OIC) from 2001 to 2004.

Biography

Abdelouahed Belkeziz was born on 5 July 1939 in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

. He attended Sidi Mohammed College, Marrakech and Moulay Youssef High School,

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

. He studied law at the Faculty of Law,

Mohammed V University Mohammed V University (, french: Université Mohammed-V de Rabat), in Rabat, Morocco, was founded in 1957 under a royal decree ( Dahir). It is the first modern university in Morocco after the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez. History The uni ...

, Rabat, and obtained his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in law from the

University of Rennes The University of Rennes is a public research university which will be officially reconstituted on 1 January 2023 and located in the city of Rennes, in Upper Brittany, France. The University of Rennes has been divided for almost 50 years, before ...

in France. Belkeziz served in various capacities at a number of educational and legal institutions as well as government commissions from 1963 to 1977. In 1977, he was appointed Ambassador to Iraq. He served as information minister in the cabinet led by Mohammad Bouabid from 27 March to 5 November 1979. His portfolio was expanded to include youth affairs and he served in the post from 5 November 1981 to 30 November 1983. He was then appointed minister of foreign affairs on 5 November 1983 and was in office until 18 February 1985. After leaving public office he returned to academia. He served as Dean of Hassan II Ain Chok University,

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

(1985–1992), Ibn Tofail University,

Kenitra Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou River, Sebou river, has a popul ...

(1992–1997) and Muhammad V University, Rabat (1997–2000). In 2001, he became the eighth Secretary-General of the OIC. He condemned the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

as "criminal and brutal acts that ran counter to all covenants, humanitarian values and divine religions foremost among which was Islam." He also led the OIC in opposing the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. He retired at the end of 2004. Belkeziz died in Rabat on 19 October 2021 at the age of 82.Le diplomate Abdelouahed Belkeziz n'est plus

Honours

Order of King Abdulaziz The Order of King Abdulaziz is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971, the introduction of orders was announced in a decree. It was instituted by King Fais ...

(1979) * Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

(1979) * Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(1980) * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of Senegal (1981) * Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit (1983) * Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Rio Branco The Order of Rio Branco (''Ordem de Rio Branco'') is an honorific order of Brazil instituted by decree 51.697 of February 5, 1963. It is named in honor of the Brazilian diplomat José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco. The President of Brazil serves ...

(1984)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belkeziz, Abdelouahed 1939 births 2021 deaths University of Rennes alumni Moroccan politicians Moroccan diplomats Ambassadors of Morocco Ambassadors of Morocco to Iraq Organisation of Islamic Cooperation officials Mohammed V University faculty Mohammed V University alumni Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Order of Civil Merit members People from Marrakesh University of Hassan II Casablanca faculty