H.E. Shaikh Abdulla Bin Rashid Al Khalifa

H.E. Shaikh Abdulla Bin Rashid Al Khalifa delivered the opening remarks at the Fifteenth Annual ASMEA Conference.

Al Khalifa has been the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States since 2017. 

His career began at the Royal Court where he worked and oversaw Educational, Medical and Social Affairs. He then joined the General Organization for Youth and Sports as the Director of Planning and was later appointed Director of Financial and Human Resources. In 2010, al Khalifa was appointed as Governor of the Southern Governorate of the Kingdom of Bahrain. As part of a collaborative effort between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States of America, al Khalifa launched a partnership between the Governorate and the American non-profit organization D.A.R.E. to develop and deploy an anti-violence and anti-addiction program delivered by trained community police officers in local elementary and secondary schools. The initiative would later transform into a national program sponsored by the Kingdom's National Anti-Drug Committee, on which Al Khalifa serves. He also played an active role in drafting the National Anti-Drug Strategy in conjunction with the regional office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which was launched in 2016.

In 2016, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa AlKhalifa granted Al Khalifa an Honorary Distinction Award recognizing his gubernatorial achievements and contributions. In 2019, he received the 2019 Stevie Award for his role in the founding and development of the Maan “Together” program against violence and addiction.