PROFILE: Khatib, the UN's special envoy to Libya

Mon, 07 Mar 2011

Amman - Abdul Ilah Khatib, the United Nations' new special envoy to Libya, is a 58-year-old Jordanian politician and economist known for his balanced thinking and outstanding negotiating abilities, people who know him say.

Khatib served twice as foreign minister, between 1998 and 2002 and again between 2005 and 2007, wielding Jordan's pro-Western foreign policy under the direction of the late King Hussein and then under King Abdullah II.

He is currently a member of the Senate, which is referred to in Jordan as the king's council, since its members are selected by the monarch from people with distinguished records in the public life.

A veteran diplomat, Khatib has gained valuable insights into the complications of Arab politics and the Arab-Israeli conflict - he was close to the Jordanian team of negotiators that concluded the peace treaty with Israel, in 1994.

Such experience is bound to help him perform his duties in his new international role.

Khatib began his cabinet career in 1995, when he was appointed Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.

In recent years, he has worked as chairman of the Economic and Social Council, which oversees the country's economic and social development.

Khatib holds a master's degree in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a master's degree in International Communications from the American University in Washington, D.C.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/370604,uns-special-envoy-libya.html.