H.E Mohamed Khalifa Bin Yousef Al Suwaidi
H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Bin Yousef Al Suwaidi was born in Abu Dhabi and is the second eldest son of the late Khalifa Bin Yousef Al Suwaidi. His mother, Mariam Bint Ahmed Khalifa al Suwaidi is the first wife to Khalifa Bin Yousef. She had two sons of which he is the youngest.
H.E, the chairman of the Bin Yousef Group, made significant contributions towards establishing and maintaining relationships between the UAE and foreign governments, particularly those in Europe, Africa, and the Russian Federation. Over the years, he formed and chaired several committees to facilitate International communication.
In the early years of his career, H. E occupied the position of Chief of Staff in Abu Dhabi’s Defense Force (ADDF) where he held ranks from Major to Brigadier. From 1967 to 1971, he was appointed Vice Chairman of The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court and Defense Department of H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He later became Ruler of Abu Dhabi, president of the United Arab Emirates and the Supreme Commander to the UAE Armed Forces in 2004. The Crown Prince Court supports H.H. the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in carrying out his national and international duties.
From 1972 to 2001 and after the inception of the United Arab Emirates, H.E served as the Director General of Economic Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE Foreign Affairs where he achieved the Diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary.
As part of his duties, he served as member and Chairman of the Diplomatic Council of the UAE Foreign Affairs which contributed towards expanding the diplomatic missions across the globe. Throughout his career with the diplomatic corps, he was the UAE Governor to The African Development Bank where he founded and chaired both The UAE/Sudan Joint State Corporation and The Joint Arab Corporation — UAE & Egypt. From 2001 to 2005, H.E. served as Minister of State as First Advisor to the Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to his retirement in 2005.
Besides having full-time duties, H.E. contributed largely to the UAE banking industry. H.E. had a major role in building the international network of The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) of which he was a Board Director for 12 years, before the bank joined forces with First Gulf Bank to become known today as the First Abu Dhabi Bank.
In addition, he founded and served on the boards of the National Bank of Ras Al Khaima (RAK-BANK) and the Al-Khazna Insurance Company.
Today, H.E enjoys the contentment of having built a robust network of businesses in various industries that continue to contribute to the economy of the United Arab Emirates.
