Abdulhadi H. Taher (1930-2013) was a Saudi Arabian oil executive and author. He was the Director General of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals.

Early life and education

Taher was born in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

in 1930 to a family of limited means. He earned his PhD in Business Administration from what is now the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as Berkeley Haas, is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a public university i ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1964. Taher died in 2013.

Career

Taher was described as "one of the most powerful figures" in Saudi Arabia. He spent his career working in both the public and private sectors. He served as the Director General of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, the government-owned corporation that develops the Mideast nation's petroleum, petrochemical and mineral industries. He was also the founder of the Al-Taher Group, a collection of companies that focus on construction, engineering, trading and real estate ventures in Saudi Arabia. The Al-Taher Group employs a workforce of more than 2500 employees based throughout the Arab region. Taher served as a board member of

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...

and as the governor and founding director general of the Petromin Corporation. Taher was a major shareholder in

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

the multinational oil company, alongside the Hinduja group. Taher lectured at the business school at

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 ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

. Taher was a Knight of Thailand. He was ennobled by

King Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

in 1980. In 2002, Taher established an endowed chair at

The American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

. The Abdulhadi H. Taher Chair in Comparative Religions was situated within the Department of History at the American University. The Chair was dedicated to the academic study of comparative religious history and theory.

Family

Abdulhadi Taher was the father of Tarek Taher.

Published works

Taher has authored or co-authored four books.

Monographs

* (2013). ''Energy, A Global Outlook: The Case for Effective International Co-operation''. Oxford: Pergamon Press. * (2011). ''Petroleum, Gas and Development Strategies of Saudi Arabia: Income Determination in the International Petroleum Industry''. London: Saqi Books. * (2008). ''Income Determination in the International Petroleum Industry''. London: Saqi Books.

Co-authored monographs

* (2013). Co-authored with Michael Matthews. ''Saudi Arabian Hydrocarbons and World Affairs''. London: Saqi Books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taher, Abdulhadi H. Abdulhadi Abdulhadi 1930 births 2013 deaths Businesspeople in the oil industry Haas School of Business alumni People from Medina Saudi Arabian business executives