Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja (born 1940) is a former Saudi ambassador and the minister of culture and information between 2009 and 2014.

Early life and education

Khoja was born in Mecca in 1940. He obtained a bachelor of science degree from

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ar, جامعة الملك سعود) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in the K ...

. Then he earned a master of science degree in organic chemistry in

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in 1967. He also holds a PhD in organic chemistry at Birmingham University in 1969.

Career

Khoja was appointed dean of the faculty of education in Mecca in 1979, and his term lasted until 1984. Then he served as the undersecretary for information affairs at the ministry of information from 1984 to 1991. Later, he served as the Saudi Ambassador to various countries, including Turkey (1991), Russia and Morocco. He was also Saudi ambassador to Lebanon and was in office from 2004 to 2009. During this period of time, King Abdullah's foreign policy towards Lebanon was highly intense and also seen as an interventionist approach. On 14 February 2009, Khoja was appointed minister of culture and information, replacing

Iyad bin Amin Madani Iyad bin Amin Madani (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 tha ...

in the post who had been in office since February 2005. Khoja's appointment was regarded as part of King Abdullah's reform initiatives. Khoja's term as the minister of culture and information ended in November 2014 when he was fired from the office. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Khudairi replaced him in the post on 8 December 2014. Khoja is considered to be a relative liberal and was close to King Abdullah, former ruler of Saudi Arabia. Khoja is also a poet. However, some of his works are banned in Saudi Arabia, although he himself was the minister of culture and information.

Other positions

Khoja was the chairman of the General Assembly of Makkah Establishment for Publishing and Printing, publisher of now-defunct newspaper ''

Al Nadwa ''Al Nadwa'' (Arabic: الندوة; ''The Forum'') was a Mecca-based daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. The daily was in circulation until 2013 when it was renamed ''Makkah''. History and profile ''Al Nadwa'' was founded in 1958 in Mecca ...

''. As of 2011 he was also the chairman of the International Islamic News Agency (IINA) Executive Council.

Book

In 2020 Khoja published his memoirs printed by Jadawel, a Beirut-based company.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoja, Abdulaziz Mohieddin 20th-century chemists 20th-century diplomats

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 187 ...

21st-century diplomats

1940 births

Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Lebanon Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Morocco Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Russia Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Turkey

Living people People from Mecca