- Samir Shihabi, born in Jerusalem on May 27, 1925, is a former Saudi diplomat. Shihabi began working for the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1949. He was appointed to top diplomatic postings in Turkey, Switzerland, Somalia, Italy and Pakistan, before becoming Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations in 1983. In 1991, he was elected to preside over the 46th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Since 1957, Mr. Shihabi has participated as Chairman, Vice-Chairman or member of Saudi Arabia's delegation to numerous United Nations and other international conferences, including those of the following bodies: the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement and the "Group of 77" developing nations. Mr. Shihabi chaired the Saudi delegation at the United Nations Conference on the Application of Science and Technology in Developing Countries (Geneva, 1963), the Conference of Ministers for Religious Affairs of the States members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (Mecca, 1978), the Group of 77 Conference on Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries (Cartagena, 1984) and the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers' Conference (Nicosia, 1989).
Mr. Shihabi has also played a leading role in the establishment of the International Association of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations. He has twice been elected President of the Association
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Fra Aftenposten, tirsdag 24.september 1991:
Saudi-Arabias ambassadør Samir Shihabi, som er valgt til president for den 46.hovedforsamling i FN, er palestiner fra Jerusalem. Hans kone heter Kari — og er fra Bergen. New York.
Dette er en stor begivenhet for oss og vårt land, sier Widad Kari Shihabi, som før het Kari Stønjum. Blomster strømmer til fornemme Waldorf Towers på Manhattan, der paret har sitt hjem. 66 år gamle Samir Shihabi er en av Saudi-Arabias mest erfarne karrierediplomater. Han ble født i Jerusalem da Palestina var britisk mandatområde. Som jusstudent i Cambridge i 1948 ble han tilbudt arbeide i Saudi-Arabias utenriksdepartement. I England traff han også sprogstudenten Kari Stønjum. De giftet seg i Kairo i 1951. Shihabi har vært FN-ambassadør siden 1983.
Da han stilte til valg som president for Hovedforsamlingen på vårparten iår, trodde mange hensikten var å forhindre valget av Jemens kandidat Abdallah Saleh al-Ashtal. Jemen hadde en uklar politisk profil under Gulf-krigen, mens Saudi-Arabia sto i fremste rekke i kampen mot Saddam Hussein. Snart ble det likevel klart at Saudi-Arabia satset seriøst på å sikre Shihabi presidentvervet. Landet drev intens lobbyvirksomhet i FN-bygget i New York. Shihabi fikk 83 av 150 gyldige stemmer i første valgomgang. Nå skal han i mange uker fremover lose verdensforsamlingen gjennom de lange sakskartene.
Å være diplomatfrue er en jobb i seg selv og jeg stortrives med det, sier tobarnsmoren Widad Kari Shihabi, som blant annet har fulgt sin mann til ambassadørposter i Tyrkia og Pakistan. Ved FN i New York er hun president i - Kvinners internasjonale forum - som består av en gruppe diplomatfruer og medlemmer av FN-sekretariatet. Hensikten er å informere om FNs arbeide på forskjellige felter.
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Fra https://dam.media.un.org
Samit S. Shihabi of Saudi Arabia Elected President of Forty-fixth General Assembly.
Portrait of Samir S. Shihabi of Saudi Arabia, newly elected President of the 46th session of the General Assembly. Mr. Shihabi has served as his country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations since 1983.
Mr. Shihabi joined the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry in 1949. He served as First Secretary in Berne, Switzerland, from 1956 to 1959, and as Charge d'affaires in Rome from 1959 to 1961. In 1961, Mr. Shihabi was appointed Director of the Foreign Ministry's United Nations and International Organizations Department. Three years later, he was appointed Saudi Arabia's first Ambassador to Turkey, where he served until 1973. That was followed by an assignment as Ambassador to Somalia. He was then transferred to Jeddah, where, from 1974 to 1979, he served as Senior Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Acting Deputy Foreign Minister. Since 1974, he has taken part in 15 delegations to the General Assembly. In 1980, Mr. Shihabi was appointed Ambassador to Pakistan. He held that position or three and a half years, until assuming his post as Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
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Samir al Shihabi, (27 May 1925 – 25 August 2010) served as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1991 to 1992.
Shihabi was born in Jerusalem on 27 May 1925. He did his undergraduate work at the American University of Cairo (AUC) and his graduate work at the Yale Law School and the University of Cambridge.
One of the most prominent Saudi diplomats of his generation, Shihabi joined the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1949. He rose quickly to become Charge d'Affairs in Italy in 1959 and then served as Saudi Ambassador to Turkey from 1964 to 1973, Ambassador to Somalia for six months in 1974 and then assumed the post of Deputy Foreign Minister early in the tenure of Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal. He was then appointed Ambassador to Pakistan in 1979, before becoming Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 1983.
In 1991, he was elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly. His final diplomatic posting, in 1994, was as Ambassador to Switzerland after which he retired in 1999.
His career was marked by a close personal and working relationship with the late King Faisal and also the late King Fahd. He carried out sensitive missions for King Faisal in support of Saudi efforts to limit Soviet influence in the region. With King Fahd he worked closely on the Afghanistan file, post the Soviet invasion.
His posting to Pakistan in 1979 was directly related to these efforts, and to putting in place the military alliance between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that by the early 1980s had over 10,000 Pakistani troops posted in the Kingdom.
His election to the Presidency of the U.N General Assembly, in 1991, was one of the few hard-fought elections for what had traditionally been a consensus appointment by rotation among regions. This followed the Gulf War and the deep split in the Middle East between pro-Saddam Iraq nations and the GCC. Shihabi had also entered the race very late in the game, months after three other candidates had already declared their intent to run, including the Foreign Minister of Yemen and also after the US and UK governments had publicly pledged their support for another candidate (a Foreign Minister of a British Commonwealth country). His surprise victory, and by a wide margin, was commented on by the New York Times and Time magazine.
Shihabi married Norwegian-born (Widad) Kari Stonjum. They met in 1946 at Britain's Cambridge University where he was studying. They then settled in Saudi Arabia. Their son, Ali Shihabi, is a former Chairman of a bank and an author and Founder of the Arabia Foundation in Washington DC.
Shihabi died on 20 August 2010, in Portugal, Algarve, where he retired. [1, 2]
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Education:
Yale University, Postgraduated
New York University, Master of Arts
1944-1947: American University, Bachelor of Arts
1947-1948: American University, Doctor of Law
2000-2000: Cambridge University, Postgraduated
Career:
1949: Ambassador, Foreign Ministry Saudi Arabia
1956-1959: First Secretary, Foreign Ministry Bern, Switzerland
1959-1961: Chargé d'affaires, Foreign Ministry Rome
1961-1964: Director, Foreign Ministry's United Nations and International Organizations Department
1964-1973: Ambassador, Foreign Ministry Turkey
1973-1974: Ambassador, Foreign Ministry Somalia
1974-1979: Senior Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Ministry Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
1974-1979: Acting Deputy Foreign Minister, Foreign Ministry Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
1980-1983: Ambassador, Foreign Ministry Pakistan
1983-1991: Permanent Representative, United Nations Organization New York City
1991-1992: President, General Assembly of the United Nations
1994-1998: Ambassador, Foreign Ministry Switzerland
Awards:
Decorated King Abdulaziz Distinguished Order King of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan
1973, Sitara Pakistan, President of Pakistan, 1982.
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Tekst til bilde:
Samir S. SHIHABI (centre) of Saudi Arabia, the newly-elected president of the General Assembly, addressing the opening of the Assembly's forty-sixth session. To the left is Secretary-General Javier PEREZ DE CUELLAR; to the right is Ronald I. SPIERS, Under-Secretary-General, Office for Political and General Assembly Affairs and Secretariat Services.
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1925 - 2010 (85 years)
[1, 2]