SPECIAL FEATURE
AMBASSADORS
ROYAL ENVOYS Highly-born ambassadors on Embassy Row
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t’s not often that a member of a country’s ruling dynasty is sent as ambassador to the United States – or to any other capital, for that matter. But Washington’s foreign diplomatic community currently has six chiefs of mission who are blood relatives to their respective heads of state – five from the Arab world, and one from Africa. The presumed advantage of these ambassadors is that they have a direct line to the country’s rulers. For example, the Saudi Arabian envoy and former Saudi Air Force pilot Prince Khaled bin Salman – “KBS” to his friends – is the son of King Salman. He is also a full brother of the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui, the Moroccan ambassador, is cousin to King Mohammed VI, the reigning Moroccan monarch, on both her mother’s side and her
father’s. Her mother, Princess Lalla Fatima, was the half-sister of Hassan II, the present king’s father. Incidentally, Princess Lalla Joumala’s husband is Muhammad Reza Nouri Esfandiari, a relative of Soraya Esfandiari, the second wife of Iran’s last shah. Qatar’s Ambassador Meshal bin Hamad AlThani, a career diplomat and son of the former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, was briefly crown prince until he was replaced by one of his half-brothers and then another, Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The change was said to reflect the influence of Tamim’s mother, the emir’s second wife, the glamorous and powerful Sheikha Moza. In 2013, the emir abdicated in favor of Tamim, who was then 33. Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s chief of mission in Washington, is a member of Bahrain’s ruling
famiy. He’s a nephew of the current King Hamad II Al-Khalifa, and ambassador in Washington is his first diplomatic post. Before that he was governor of one of the small Gulf state’s provinces. He replaced another member of the family whose own name was so close that he is using his predecessor’s calling cards. But not all ambassadors from ruling houses are new arrivals. Kuwait’s Ambassador Salem Abdullah Al-Juber Al-Sabah, a member of the Kuwaiti Al-Sabah ruling family, took up his post in Washington a week before 9/11. Nor are Arab nations the only ones to appoint royals to the job. Among the African ambassadors who recently presented credentials to President Trump was Njabuliso Gwebu, from Swaziland, one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchies. Gwebu is the sister of exQueen Inkdrosikati LaGangaza, fourth of the so-far 15 wives of King Mswati III.
BAHRAIN: Ambassador SHAIKH ABDULLAH BIN RASHID BIN ABDULLAH AL-KHALIFA, the new Bahraini ambassador, has the same name as his predecessor, so he is using his predecessor’s leftover business cards. Why go to the expense of new ones? Ambassador Rashid Al-Khalifa has no previous diplomatic experience: He was governor of the island kingdom’s southern province before his current appointment. But he does have a key advantage. He is a member of the ruling Al-Khalifa family, with direct access to the upper reaches of the Bahraini government.
SWAZILAND: NJABULISO GWEBU, Swaziland’s new ambassador to Washington is the sister of Queen
Inkhosikati LaNgangaza and is herself a member of the royal family, the Dlaminis. Tiny Swaziland (population 1.2 million) is one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchies – and the country with the highest global AIDS rate and poverty level. King Mswati III, its ruler, has 15 wives (Queen Inkhosikati is his fourth wife) and 24 children. The Dlaminis are ubiquitous in Swaziland’s public service: the prime minister, former foreign minister and several ambassadors all bear the same surname. In addition to the ambassador, there are three other Dlaminis in the Washington embassy.
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