Ali Al Hajri

His Excellency Dr Ali bin Ghanem Al Hajri is a Qatari diplomat and writer whose service has included representing the State of Qatar in Nigeria and other African countries. His career reflects a sustained interest in knowledge, new experience and engagement with different cultures.

He grew up among numerous siblings, relatives and friends in a large, close family shaped by companionship, competition, mutual support and cooperation. Time with his elderly grandfather also exposed him to the wisdom of an older generation from an early age.

The family lived in Al Rayyan, Qatar’s second-largest city, where he completed primary and secondary education among friends of different nationalities. The diverse neighbourhood shaped his interests and ambitions. An energetic and inquisitive child, he enjoyed poetry and the gatherings for discussion and learning that brought together many parts of Qatari society.

His father, grandfather and their companions taught him generosity and hospitality within an environment rich in Arab and Qatari tradition. Conversations after dawn prayer became regular lessons in the affairs of Qatar, the Arab world and countries beyond it. Absorbing those discussions early opened a lifelong interest in culture, literature, dialogue and ideas and later influenced both his public and professional life.

After completing primary and secondary school in Al Rayyan, he continued his education at institutions in several countries. He earned advanced qualifications in European law, business administration and archaeology in the United Kingdom, followed by a doctorate in political science from Malaysia.

Formal education led into independent research and creative writing, but study never felt complete to him. He regards learning as a continuous part of human existence rather than a process ending with an academic, literary or social qualification. Self-directed study, literature and history therefore remained permanent commitments.

His career began at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where experienced diplomats and administrators introduced him to the demands of national and regional service. Successive assignments developed his practical judgement and strengthened his commitment to country and community. In that sense, diplomatic work became an extension of the values formed in his early environment.

After serving in several ministry departments, he joined Qatar’s embassy in London and later transferred to Madrid.

When Qatar established its consulate in Guangzhou, he became the country’s first Consul-General in southern China and remained there for several years. He was subsequently appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with non-resident accreditation to neighbouring African states, a position he continued to hold at the date covered by the source edition.

Diplomatic service required constant movement, contact with many institutions and individuals, and long periods of direct engagement with local communities. Living and working in different regions gave him sustained access to other cultures and to contrasting interpretations of ideas shared across humanity.

The Covid-19 pandemic, home quarantine and social distancing expanded the time he could devote to independent study, research and creative writing. The period taught him that challenges can also be used to create new opportunities.

The blockade of Qatar prompted him to use historical and creative writing in defence of his country. “Qatar in the Eyes of Travellers”, published by Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press, presented Qatar’s history and continuing international role to readers abroad. It was translated into more than eleven languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Indonesian, Sinhala, Nepali and the African languages Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Experience and curiosity drive his writing. Recognising affinities among cultures separated by thousands of miles led him to explore their historical connections. His novel “The Fleet of the Sun” follows Chinese traveller Zheng He to the Arabian Peninsula and imagines encounters with significant regional figures. The work sought to fill a gap in Arab readers’ knowledge of China during that period and later informed a documentary on the Silk Road and literature.

His books have explored China’s culture and heritage through the Ming dynasty, the Muslim sailor and diplomat Zheng He and the Yongle Emperor. His research then moved through the Arabian Peninsula into Africa, including the life of Uthman dan Fodio, and towards the Islamic West and southern Europe through a study of the Andalusian statesman Almanzor.

Sinology is a particular focus. He gathered extensive material on China’s social, cultural, economic and intellectual life and published it in a series of books. The scale of that output brought recognition as one of the most prolific recent Arab authors on China, and he described his approach as contemporary Sinology.

He turned accumulated diplomatic and cultural experience into historical, economic and cultural research rather than allowing it to remain unused. Publications included “Arts in the Ming Dynasty”; “Zheng He, Emperor of the Chinese Seas”, a study of the founder of the Maritime Silk Road issued by Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press; and “Emperor of the East, Zhu Di: An Era of Prosperity and Chinese Sovereignty”, published by Defaf in Beirut.

A Hausa edition of “Qatar in the Eyes of Travellers” was followed by a Yoruba version produced with leading Nigerian universities. Professors at Nigerian institutions also supported publication in Igbo. Across all editions, his books reached more than eleven international languages.

Recognition came in both diplomatic and literary settings. He received a certificate of appreciation from the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council and honours from several Chinese universities, including an honorary professorship and teaching appointments in southern China. Scientific, economic and cultural institutions—including the Saud Al Babtain Chair—presented letters of thanks and honorary shields for his research. A Nigerian university associated with the legacy of Uthman dan Fodio later awarded him an honorary doctorate in humanities for his historical work, his support for translating Arabic literature into Nigerian languages and his initiative to bring Arabic and African literature into closer conversation.

He encountered difficulties throughout academic, professional and social life, but treated each obstacle as an opportunity to analyse a problem, find a solution and broaden his understanding. Challenges, in his view, are inseparable from human life, as reflected in the Qur’anic teaching that humanity was created into struggle.