Ghaleb Zaki Barakat (20 September 1927 – 6 August 2014) was a Jordanian politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities between 1967 and 1972 and was later posted as a diplomat to several

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

institutions and agencies.

Career

Barakat was born in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1927 to Zaki and Fatmeh Barakat. He went to the Bishop Gobat School in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He studied economics and trade at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

in Lebanon, graduating with honours in 1949. He started his career by working as press attaché at the Tourism Department in 1952. After two years he became tourisme attaché at the Jordanian embassy in Rome, Italy. In 1960 he returned to Jordan to become Director-General of the Tourism Authority, a function which he held until 1972. Between 1967 and 1972 he was concurrently Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. From 1967 to 1979 he was also a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Commerce of the

University of Jordan The University of Jordan ( ar, الجامعة الأردنية), often abbreviated UJ, is a public university located in Amman, Jordan. Founded in 1962 by royal decree, it is the largest and oldest institution of higher education in Jordan. ...

. In 1980 he became special envoy of the United Nations agency

World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internati ...

. In the same year he was posted to the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, french: Office des Nations Unies à Genève) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG ...

, where he became the Jordanian

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

and served on the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

. In 1985 he ended his work for those agencies and moved on to the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

where he became Assistant Director General for activities in the Arab region until 1990. He married his wife in 1959 and had three children with her. He died on 6 August 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barakat, Ghaleb Zaki 1927 births 2014 deaths People from Jaffa American University of Beirut alumni Academic staff of the University of Jordan Tourism ministers of Jordan Jordanian diplomats Permanent Representatives of Jordan to the United Nations International Labour Organization people Jordanian officials of the United Nations