Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi
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Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi ( ar, غازي بن عبدالرحمن القصيبي; 3 March 1940 – 15 August 2010) was a Saudi politician, diplomat, technocrat, poet, and novelist. He was an intellectual and a member of the Al Gosaibi family that is one of the oldest and richest trading families of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Al Gosaibi was considered among Saudi Arabia's topmost technocrats since the mid-1970s. ''
The Majalla ''The Majalla'', often directly transliterated as ''Al Majalla'' (Arabic:المجلة, "the magazine") is a Saudi-owned, London-based political news journal published in Arabic, English and Persian. The magazine's headquarters in Saudi Arabia i ...
'' called him the "Godfather of Renovation" while Saudi journalist
Othman Al Omeir Othman Al Omeir (born 1950) (Arabic:عثمان العمير) is a Saudi-born British businessman, journalist and editor. He is considered to be close to King Salman of Saudi Arabia and former rulers, including King Fahd, King Hassan II and Has ...
argued that he was "the only great man in Saudi Arabia."


Early life and education

Al Gossaibi was born on 3 March 1940 to one of the richest families of the Kingdom in Hofuf located in Al Ahsa province. The family was of
Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...
i origin. His mother was from the Kateb family of Mecca who died when he was aged nine months, and he was raised by his grandmother. He received primary and secondary education in Bahrain which was a British protectorate during that time. He attended the
University of Cairo Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
and received a degree in law in 1961. Later, he moved to the United States and graduated from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
with a degree in international relations in 1964. He later completed his PhD in law at the
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
in 1970; his PhD thesis was about the Yemen crisis which took place from 1962 to 1967.


Career

Al Gosaibi began his career working as a lecturer 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 ...
in 1965. He held various positions, including associate professor, dean of the faculty of commerce and head of the department of political science. In 1965, he served as a legal consultant to the Saudi reconciliation committee; the job was related to negotiating with the Egyptian forces in Yemen. He also served as the director general of
Saudi Railways Organization The Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) ( ar, المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية) is one of two state-owned companies that operates Saudi Arabia's rail network along with Saudi Railway Company. The SRO operates a network of ra ...
in 1970, chairman of Jubail Petrochemical Company (Sadaf) and Yanbu Petrochemical Company (Yanpet), member on Public Investment Fund, Supreme Manpower Council, and Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. Al Gosaibi was one of the technocrats in the 1970s who were chosen by the Saudi government for assigning public positions and posts. In October 1975,
King Khalid Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, خالد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Khalid ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'' ; 13 February 1913 13 June 1982) was a Saudi Arabian statesman and politician who served as King and Prime Minister of ...
appointed him the minister of industry and electricity, which he held the position until 1983. In 1976 he proposed the creation of a joint-stock state-controlled firm that could serve as a catalyst for the industrialization of Saudi Arabia. Later that year the
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ( ar, الشركة السعودية للصناعات الأساسية), known as SABIC ( ar, سابك), is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company. 70% of SABIC's shares are owned by Saudi Aramco. It is active in ...
(SABIC) was created, and Al Gosaibi was named its chairman. He also served as the minister of health from 1983 to 1984. He was removed from office without any explanation in 1984. Then he served as the ambassador to Bahrain (1984-1992) and was subsequently appointed the Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1992. Al Gosaibi replaced Nasser Almanquor as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland following the latter's removal due to his support for the
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
(religious decree) asking for the death of British writer
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...
. In 1999, Al Gosaibi nominated himself to serve for the post of director general of
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. However, he was not elected, and
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
diplomat,
Koichiro Matsuura Kōichirō, Koichiro, Kouichirou or Kohichiroh is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible Writings *晃一郎, "clear, one, son" *光一郎, "light, one, son" *弘一郎, "vast, one, son" *鴻一郎, "prosperous, one, son" *紘一郎, "large, on ...
, became the director general. In the election, Matsuura won 34 votes, Al Gosaibi 13. Al Gosaibi's term as Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland ended in September 2002. Next Al Gosaibi was appointed minister of water and electricity in mid-September 2002 when the ministry of agriculture and water was divided into two independent ministerial bodies. His tenure lasted until April 2004. During this period, Al Gosaibi was also appointed 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 served in the post until October 2004.
King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...
appointed him as the minister of labor on 13 April 2004 following the split of the labor and social affairs ministry into two. He contributed to the national strategy of Saudization into practice and motivated private firms to employ a greater proportion of Saudi nationals. He served in the post until his death in 2010 and was succeeded by
Adel Fakeih Adel Fakeih (born 1 July 1959; Arabic:عادل فقيه) is a Saudi Arabian engineer and the former mayor of Jeddah. He was the minister of labor from August 2010 to April 2015, minister of health between April 2014 and December 2014, and minist ...
in the post. Al Gosaibi was a member of the honorary committee of Painting & Patronage from 2000 to 2010. He also actively participated in the organization of its first and second programmes held in London in 2000 and Riyadh in 2001, respectively.


Dismissals

Al Gosaibi, while serving as minister of health, was dismissed in 1984. He had openly asked for and supported the transparent tendering for regional hospitals. This criticism of Al Gosaibi targeted
Saudi Oger Saudi Oger Ltd ( ar, سعودي أوجيه), was a Saudi construction company, incorporated in January 1978 with its headquarters in Riyadh. The initial paid up capital of SR 1 million (US$267,000) was subsequently increased to the present level o ...
, owned by late
Rafik Hariri Rafik is the given name of: *Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon *Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National *Rafik Deg ...
, who had been closely associated with King Fahd. Since Al Gosaibi was not able to meet with King Fahd, he wrote a poem for the King, entitled "A Pen Bought and Sold". The poem, which was published on the front page of '' Al Jazirah'', indirectly accused the ruling elites, including
Prince Sultan Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (c. 5 January 1928 – 22 October 2011) (Arabic: سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Sulṭān ibn ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''), called ''Sultan the Good'' (Arabic: سلطان الخير ''Sulṭa ...
, minister of defence, of corruption. King Fahd fired him after reading the poem. Al Gosaibi was also removed from his post as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2002 due to his poem, a short verse entitled "You Are the Martyrs", published in ''
Al Hayat Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferred ve ...
'' in mid-April, supposedly praising a Palestinian female suicide bomber. The poem was allegedly dedicated to a Palestinian teenager, Ayat Akhras who blew herself up on 29 March 2002 in the Kiryat HaYovel supermarket in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, resulting in the death of two Israelis. Al Gosaibi described her as the "bride of the heavens" who "stands up to the criminal" and "kisses death with a smile." The poem also included critical views about the United States and the Arab political and intellectual elite, who, for Al Gosaibi, did not assume any responsibility with regard to the Palestinian conflict. Before his removal from his post by the Saudi government, Al Gosaibi had faced censure from the
British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
because of the aforementioned poem.


Views

Al Gosaibi, as the minister of industry and electricity, stated in 1980 that
American foreign policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...
was "self-doubt, isolative, and had a tendency to abdicate." He also criticised the approach by US media towards Saudi Arabia. During his tenure as Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, he described
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
as "a human monster" in the immediate aftermath of the
9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...
in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's HARDtalk interview. In 2002, he argued that the suicide bombers "died to honor God's word." In response to the criticisms from Jewish groups over his poem, "You Are the Martyrs", he defended his position and accused Israel of "committing war crimes." He also expressed his support for a two-state solution for the Palestinian conflict and the Saudi government-backed Arab peace initiative. During the same period, he said: "the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is worse than anything Europe experienced under Nazi Germany." He was an apparent critic of the Saudi conservative society. He was an ally of King Abdullah in regard to his reform initiatives and is known for his liberal religious views. He was against terrorism and extremism and called for democratic reform in the Kingdom, although he argued that it needed to be a very gradual process. He was labeled by radicals as "a Westerner, infidel, secular and a hypocrite", and experienced a systematic and intense ideological campaign against him. More specifically, Osama bin Laden called him in a taped message in 2006 a liberal fifth columnist. During his tenure as minister of labor, Al Gosaibi supported the idea that Saudi women should be offered more job opportunities. He stated that Saudis were only interested in high-paying, easy jobs. He served hamburgers in 2008 for three hours at a
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
fast food restaurant, a job usually performed by non-Saudi workers. Later in a press conference, he told Saudi youth that this type of work was not dishonorable. He warned against increasing
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
among Saudis towards the millions of
foreign workers in Saudi Arabia Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia (), estimated to number about 9 million as of April 2013, began migrating to the country soon after oil was discovered in the late 1930s. Initially, the main influx was composed of Arab and Western technical, pro ...
in 2008. However, when a significant financial crisis affected all countries, in January 2009 he warned Saudi firms against exploiting the crisis as a reason for terminating Saudi nationals and suggested them to terminate foreign workers in the country.


Literary works and other writings

Al Gosaibi was one of the best-selling writers in
the Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
and also, was a significant diplomat-poet. He published nearly 40 books, most of which were the collections of his poems, which provide "images of a simpler, desert culture." His novels were mostly based on the topic of corruption, Arab alienation, love,
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
s and the condition of the Arab states. In ''Freedom Apartment'' or ''An Apartment Called Freedom'' (1994), one of his most known novels, the theme is about the lives of four Bahrainis who left their homes for university education in Cairo in the 1960s. The novel also reflects his own experience in Cairo. Another novel, ''Sab'ah'' (2003), is a
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
and "depicts the Arab reality through seven characters who have different ideas and works, and are flirting with the same woman." ''A Love Story'' (2002) narrates the life of a novelist who is dying in a hospital bed, dreaming about the memories of his past love affair with a married woman. Al Gosaibi also published non-fiction books, including an autobiography, entitled ''Yes, (Saudi) Minister! A lifetime in Administration'' (1999) and ''The Gulf Crisis'' that offers an insider's account of the Arab reaction to
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
's
invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
. In addition, he wrote essays, focusing on the relations between the Arab and western world. Some of his books, including ''An Apartment Called Freedom'', were banned for a long time in Saudi Arabia. The reason for the ban was that his works were often critical of ruling regimes in the region and included a satirical representation of social and political mores. At the beginning of August 2010, just two weeks before his death, this ban was lifted due to his contributions to the country. His novels in Arabic are as follows: * ''Al-'Uṣfūrīyah'', 1996. (العصفورية) * ''Humā'', 2001. (هما) * ''Danaskū'', 2002. (دنسكو) * ''Rajul Jā'a wa-Dhahab'', 2002. (رجل جاء وذهب) * ''Salmá'', 2002. (سلمى) * ''Sab'ah'', 2003. (سبعة) * ''Ḥikāyat Ḥub'', 2004. (حكاية حب) * ''Abū Shallākh al-Barmā'ī'', 2006. (أبو شلاخ البرمائي) * ''Al-Jinnīyah'', 2006. (الجنية) * ''Alzahāymar'', 2010. (ألزهايمر) * ''Sa'adat Alsafeer'', 2003. (سعادة السفير) Two of his novels were translated into English: * ''Seven'', by Basil Hakim and Gavin Watterson, Saqi Books (1999) * ''An Apartment Called Freedom'' (''Shiqqat al-Ḥurrīyah'', 1994, (شقة الحرية)), by Leslie McLoughlin, Kegan-Paul (1996) In 1989, one of Al Gosaibi's poetry books was also translated into English by
Anne Fairbairn Anne Mary Ross Fairbairn (also Body, ; 1928 – 22 October 2018) was a widely published Australian poet, journalist and expert in Arab culture. She is the only granddaughter of Australia's fourth Prime Minister, George Reid. In 1965, she marrie ...
in Australia, titled as ''Feathers and the Horizon''.


Personal life

Al Gosaibi married to a German woman who was raised in Bahrain. They had four children; one daughter and three sons.


Death and funeral

Al Gosaibi underwent a surgery at Riyadh's King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the late July 2010. He died of
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
at the age of 70 on 15 August 2010. The funeral prayer for him was performed at Imam Turki Mosque, and acting Riyadh governor, Prince Sattam attended the funeral. He was buried in
Al Oud cemetery Al Oud Cemetery () is a public cemetery in al-Oud, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, known for being the resting place of many kings, crown princes and royals of the second and current Saudi states. The word "''al-ʿŪud"'', in Peninsular Arabic means "eld ...
in Riyadh on the same day, 15 August 2010. His family held another funeral service for him in Bahrain.


Legacy

Asharqia Chamber began to offer the Ghazi Al Gosaibi Award for the promising small and medium size companies, particularly in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The award is given biannually. In April 2013, Al Waleed bin Talal Foundation-Global, headed by Prince Al Waleed, bought the house of Ghazi Al Gosaibi in
Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...
, Bahrain, to renovate it.


Awards

In 2017 the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association posthumously recognized Al Gosaibi as a pioneer in
petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...
and chemicals and awarded him with the GPCA Legacy Award.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosaibi, Ghazi Abdul Rahman 20th-century novelists 20th-century Saudi Arabian poets 21st-century Saudi Arabian poets 20th-century Saudi Arabian politicians 21st-century Saudi Arabian politicians 1940 births 2010 deaths Alumni of University College London Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Bahrain Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Ireland Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom Burials at Al Oud cemetery Cairo University alumni Electricity ministers of Saudi Arabia Health ministers of Saudi Arabia Industry ministers of Saudi Arabia Labour ministers of Saudi Arabia Water ministers of Saudi Arabia King Saud University faculty Saudi Arabian novelists USC School of International Relations alumni