QATAR - Profile - Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiya.

The minister of energy and industry, Attiya (or Attiyah) is also minister of electricity and water. The portfolio of electricity and water was merged with his ministry on Jan. 12, 1999. Attiya is chairman and managing director of QGPC. He became QGPC's head in a decree issued by the emir on

Attiya is close to both the emir and Prime Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa. He is an ambitious and hard working technocrat, very much in tune with what Shaikh Hamad wants to do in Qatar, i.e. to modernise the economy and to build up the gas sector on a massive scale.

Among Attiya's non-Qatari advisors is Dr. Ramzi Salman, former CEO of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) and former deputy secretary-general of OPEC, who advises him on oil. Algeria's Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi, now also OPEC's president, acted as an advisor to Attiya on LNG until he rejoined the Algiers' government in 1997. Attiya was first appointed as energy and industry minister on Sept. 1, 1992, after the departments of petroleum and electricity were merged with that of industry. At the same time, Attiya also became chairman and managing director of QGPC.

Attiya moved to restructure QGPC. By October 1992, he had reshuffled the board of QGPC, appointed a new finance manager, brought several departments under his direct control and created a new human resources department from four former sections. Attiya established strict controls on spending, requiring his personal approval for contracts worth over 50,000 Qatari riyals ($13,700), but as a result of domestic intrigues he relaxed the controls subsequently and set up a special task force to speed up oil development projects in which foreign companies were to be involved.

The period between 1992 and 1996 involved major political intrigues between Attiya and QGPC deputy chairman Dr. Jaber Al Marri. But Attiya was retained as energy and industry minister in the cabinet that was formed by Shaikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa on Oct. 30, 1996. On Nov. 20, 1996, the emir issued a decree dismissing Marri and appointing Attiya as QGPC managing director. The decree also retained QGPC's board of directors under Attiya's chairmanship.

Attiya has long experience in OPEC. He has attended OPEC meetings since 1972, first as part of the former ministry of petroleum and finance and then in his capacity as head of the office of the then acting petroleum and finance minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa. On Nov. 23, 1993, Attiya was named OPEC president for a year's term. At the time, he was already a member of OPEC's quota compliance committee.