Khaled Al Maeena (born 1954/1955) is a veteran Saudi journalist, commentator, businessman and the former editor-in-chief of the ''

Saudi Gazette Saudi Gazette is an English-language daily newspaper launched in 1976 and published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is only available online, as the print version was discontinued in 2019. It is the second English-language daily newspaper in Saudi Ar ...

''. He is regarded as a liberal.

Education

Al Meena received his education in different countries, including the United States, Britain and Pakistan. He attended the St. Patrick's College in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and graduated with a degree in journalism from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

Career

Al Maeena began his career in 1972, joining the

Saudi Arabian Airlines Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Internati ...

(Saudia) as an intern. He worked at several positions in the airline including as chief editor of ''Saudi World''. In 1982, he became the editor-in-chief of ''

Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...

''. Al Maeena was one of four journalists to cover the resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1990. He left his post in 1993, becoming the CEO of the Saudi Public Relations Company (SPRC), a position he held for five years. He returned to the top editor's post at ''

'' in 1998 and held the post until October 2011. He was appointed editor-in-chief of ''

'' on 2 April 2012. His term ended in February 2014 and he was succeeded by Somayya Jabarti in the post. Almaeena occasionally contributes commentary columns for ''

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...

'', ''

Al Eqtisadiah Al Eqtisadiah ( ar, الاقتصادية, 'The Economy') is a Saudi daily business newspaper, published by Saudi Research and Publishing Company. It has been in circulation since 1962. History ''Al Eqtisadiah'' was first launched as an economic ...

'', ''

Times of Oman ''Times of Oman'' is a daily newspaper published in the Sultanate of Oman. Established in 1975, the newspaper is the oldest English-language paper of Oman. Apart from daily news on local, regional, international, business and sport interests, I ...

'', ''

Asian Age ''The Asian Age'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper with editions published in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. It also prints an "international edition" in London. It was launched in February 1994. The same publishing company also prod ...

'', ''The China Post'', ''

Asharq Al-Awsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted f ...

'', '' Al Madina'' and ''

Urdu News Urdu News is now an independent news website with the focus on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the globe. It was first daily Urdu newspaper published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and also in other Arab countries. History and ownership ''U ...

''. He was also a Saudi television news anchor, talk show host, radio announcer and lecturer. Khaled Almaeena also serves as a Member of Advisory Board for Gulf at TAIB Bank.

Relations

Al Maeena was reported to be close to

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 ...

and King Abdullah. He is also considered to have close relations with the new king, Salman.

Jeddah floods

As a resident of

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 ...

, Al Maeena wrot
a letter
to

Khaled Al Faisal Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud ( ar, خالد بن فيصل ال سعود ''Khālid bin Fayṣal Āl Suʿūd''; born 24 February 1940) is a Saudi Arabian politician, artist, and poet who is the governor of Makkah Province, in office from 2007 to 2013 ...

, governor of

Makkah Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow va ...

after the catastrophic

2009 Jeddah floods The 2009 Saudi Arabian floods affected Jeddah, on the Red Sea (western) coast of Saudi Arabia, and other areas of Makkah Province. They have been described by civil defence officials as the worst in 27 years. As of 3 January 2010, some 122 ...

. The letter was published in ''

'' where he was editor-in-chief.

Awards

Al Maeena was honored with the third highest civilian award

Sitara-e-Pakistan The Nishan-e-Pakistan ( ur, , , ''Order of Pakistan'') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded for "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan i ...

in 2008 by the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maeena, Khaled Living people University of Karachi alumni St. Patrick's College (Karachi) alumni Saudi Arabian journalists Saudi Arabian newspaper editors Saudi Arabian expatriates in Pakistan Year of birth uncertain Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan