Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, a Kuwaiti politician and diplomat, was born in 1968, and held several positions. Due to his long diplomatic experience, he was appointed on January 29, 2023, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, to succeed Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf.

Birth and upbringing

Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi was born on February 22, 1968 in Kuwait and grew up there, then he moved to study in Britain in preparation for his university studies.

Scientific formation

Al-Budaiwi obtained a bachelor's degree in media from the University of Utah in the United States in 1991, and then obtained a diploma in 1993 in diplomatic studies from the University of Oxford in Britain.

In 2020, Al-Budaiwi was appointed Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, but he was relieved of it before the end of his regular term (Kuwaiti press)

Political and diplomatic experience

In 1992, Al-Budaiwi joined the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the rank of diplomatic attache to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the State of Kuwait, and officially began his political and diplomatic career in 1993 when he was appointed ambassador to his country in Japan, and since that date he has represented Kuwait in international conferences, and has also traveled on missions in embassies country around the world.

Al-Budaiwi then rose from second secretary to first secretary in 2004, then to the position of deputy head of the Kuwaiti mission to the United Nations.

He was appointed ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the Republic of Korea from 2013 to 2016, and at that time he was the head of his country’s delegation at the meeting of the working group on Syria organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Korea, which was held in 2013. He participated as a speaker in the 2014 cooperation conference between Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council on the defense industry .

He also participated in the 14th Joint Conference of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations on the issue of disarmament and non-proliferation in December 2015. He also chaired the Water Forum organized by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April 2016. Then he went to Belgium as ambassador to Kuwait from 2016 to 2022.

Al-Budaiwi headed his country's delegation to the emergency meeting of the Special Liaison Committee organized by the European Union, and to the Policy Advisory Group organized by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in January 2018 between its allies and members of the Istanbul Initiative "ICI".

Al-Budaiwi was the head of his country's delegation at the International Conference of Victims of Race and Religious Violence in May 2018, and at the Somali Partnership Forum in July of the same year, both conferences organized by the European Union.

Logo of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Al Jazeera)

He headed his country's delegation to the International Donors Conference on Albania, organized by the European Union, and to the International Solidarity Conference on Venezuelan Refugees and the Migrant Crisis in October 2019, organized by the European Union.

In February 2018, he also headed the Kuwaiti delegation to the Kuwaiti Economic Forum "Kuwait Vision 2035".

He also headed the Kuwaiti delegation to the meeting of the Special Liaison Committee "AHLC" at the level of senior officials in April 2019.

In November 2019, he participated in the second meeting of the annual review of NATO's work for the countries of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI).

He also participated in the meeting of senior officials on the humanitarian situation in Yemen organized by the European Union in February 2020, and in the June 2021 edition as well.

In February 2020, Al-Budaiwi was appointed Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, but he was relieved of it before the end of his regular 3-year term.

Al-Budaiwi had other international participations, including his membership in his country's delegation to the meetings of the 26th session of the Joint Ministerial Council between the Cooperation Council for the Arab Gulf States and the European Union in Brussels in February 2022, and this year he was appointed ambassador to his country in the United States of America.

During a meeting held in Riyadh for the 43rd Gulf Summit, in December 2022, the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries agreed on Kuwait's desire to retain the position of Secretary-General for a second term.

Al-Budaiwi officially assumed the position on February 1, 2023, succeeding former Secretary Nayef Al-Hajraf.

The position of the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council is the highest position in the General Secretariat, and the Secretary is chosen from the Supreme Council that includes the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in which the Secretary works for a period of 3 years, renewable once.

Among the tasks entrusted to the Secretary is the preparation of studies to enhance cooperation and integration among the member states of the Cooperation Council, with the preparation of periodic reports on the work of the Council, follow-up on the implementation of decisions, preparation for meetings, and other tasks.

Jassim Al-Budaiwi held the position of non-resident ambassador to the "Grand Duchy of Luxembourg" (Kuwaiti press)

Jobs and responsibilities

Al-Budaiwi assumed several responsibilities and held many positions, including:

  • Member of the Kuwaiti delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement summit in 1992.

  • Member of the delegation of the State of Kuwait to the Industrial Development Organization of the United Nations from 1993 to 1999.

  • Appointed at the Kuwait Embassy in Japan from 1993 to 1997.

  • He was a member of the Kuwaiti delegation to the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 1997 to 2000.

  • Appointed at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Austria and the Permanent Mission of Kuwait to the United Nations in Vienna from 1997 until 2001.

  • He was part of the State of Kuwait's negotiation team regarding the trade and investment agreement with the United States of America from 2003 to 2008.

  • Counselor at the Kuwait Embassy in the United States of America in May 2007.

  • Deputy Head of Mission of the Kuwaiti Embassy in the United States of America in October 2011.

  • Deputy Director of the Undersecretary's Office Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2013.

  • Ambassador of Kuwait to the Republic of Korea from 2013 to 2016.

  • Head of the Mission of the State of Kuwait to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 2016 to 2022.

  • Ambassador of Kuwait to the Kingdom of Belgium from 2016 to 2022.

  • Head of the Kuwait Mission to the European Union from 2017 to 2022.

  • The position of Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the United States of America during the period from 2022.

  • Non-resident ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Awards

Among the awards that Al-Budaiwi received was the Excellence Award for 2014 from the Asian Society Korea Center in 2015.

The Korean Parliament also chose him as the best ambassador for the year 2014, for his efforts in strengthening relations between Korea and Kuwait.