Lolwah Al-Khater

Lolwah Rashid Mohammed al-Khater (Arabic: لؤلؤة الخاطر) (born in Doha, Qatar) is the Qatari Minister of Education and Higher Education since 12 November 2024. She is a diplomat, who was the first Qatari woman to hold the position of Spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Assistant Foreign Minister of Qatar. Between March 2023 and November 2024, she had served as Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Career Lolwah al-Khater holds a master's of science in computing and initially worked as an engineer in the field of oil and gas. According to her biography, she is a part-time lecturer at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and a research associate at The Oxford Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Forum at St Antony's College at the University of Oxford. examining Islam and Modernity in the context of the Arab Nahda.

al-Khater entered the Qatari ministry of foreign affairs as a minister plenipotentiary. This appointment has been cited as an important advance in women's representation in the Qatari government. In this role, she was "one of the most prominent voices" advocating for Qatar during the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, according to Al Khaleej, and pushed for "a meaningful solution" to the Syrian civil war. In 2019, she was appointed Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

She is Spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management in Qatar. In this role, she delivered daily briefings to the public on Qatar TV during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Georgetown University in Qatar.

In March 2023, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani appointed al-Khater Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, al-Khater was the first foreign official to visit the besieged Gaza Strip on 26 November. There she surveyed the disputed influx of aid, met wounded Palestinians and spoke with Wael al-Dahdouh, Gaza bureau chief of Qatari-funded Al Jazeera, who lost his wife, son and grandchild in an Israeli airstrike. Over and above that, discussions on bilateral cooperation took place in October between HE Al Khater, and HE Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, which included topics such as developments in the Gaza Strip and strategies for joint humanitarian aid efforts in the region. Watts also appreciated Qatar's initiatives focused on de-escalation and protecting civilians.

In March 2024, following successful mediation efforts by Qatar to reunite children with their families amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, HE al-Khater expressed nation's gratitude to Russia and Ukraine for their cooperation and commitment to the children's safety and well-being. She highlighted Russia's provision of care and treatment for the children during their stay and thanked Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova and Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets for their significant contributions to the successful family reunifications.

At the "Women for Palestine" conference in Doha on May 11, 2024, HE Al Khater praised Palestinian women and children as embodiments of resilience. Moreover, Qatar has played a crucial role in mediating the release of captives from Gaza and advocating for a ceasefire in the embattled region.

On 12 November 2024, Al Khater was appointed as Minister of Education and Higher Education.

Writings