Yousef Laram

His Excellency Yousef bin Sultan Laram is a Qatari diplomat whose career has focused on law and bilateral and multilateral relations. His responsibilities have included work at Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, the Department of International Organisations and the Department of Asian Affairs.

He grew up in southern Khalifa City in a conservative, close family. Parents and siblings continually encouraged learning, and he remained among the pupils recognised for academic excellence through preparatory school.

Beyond lessons, his activities widened progressively. He joined the Boy Scouts and Qatar Red Crescent Club during the primary years; Qatar Scientific Club, Qatar Bowling Centre and Al Sadd’s football programme at preparatory school; and the Qatar Self-Defence Federation for judo during secondary education.

He attended Khalifa Model School, Khalifa Primary School, Yarmouk Preparatory School and Al Istiqlal Secondary School. A final average of 80.3 per cent enabled him to enter Qatar University in 1998.

He began in chemical engineering but found that it did not suit him. In 2000, he transferred to the College of Law to study law and Sharia, graduating in 2006 at the head of the male cohort.

Law transformed his academic life. It strengthened his reasoning and deepened a love of reading and continual learning. He linked excellence with good intention: knowledge should first serve faith and country, then the individual and family.

That belief reinforced a determined character and a constructive outlook. Trust that God chooses what is best did not mean passivity; it required learning, perseverance, sacrifice and a willingness to meet difficulty directly.

The transfer became a second turning point. He promoted teamwork and was entrusted with significant legal responsibilities. He served as Secretary of the Permanent Committee concerned with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, bringing together relevant national institutions. He was also member-rapporteur of the national committee for land-border demarcation and the maritime boundary with Saudi Arabia, and rapporteur of the national committee supporting mediation between Yemen’s government and the Houthis.

Service at the ministry’s headquarters deepened his sense of national responsibility. Qatar’s growing political standing made him determined to contribute personally to protecting and extending those achievements.

Before his formal transfer to New York, he covered the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which addresses legal questions, from September to November 2009. In 2011, the Minister of Foreign Affairs assigned him to Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The move began a defining period at the centre of multilateral diplomacy.

On several occasions, he temporarily led the mission. That responsibility brought participation in open and closed meetings on major regional and international questions, as well as the delivery of Qatari statements before the Security Council and General Assembly.

In 2013, he spoke for the Asian Group at the General Assembly’s first commemorative meeting for former South African President Nelson Mandela. He also delivered statements on development, economics and humanitarian, social and political questions. The breadth of these assignments strengthened his confidence and brought contact with heads of state and government, foreign ministers, national representatives, the United Nations Secretary-General and other senior officials.

In September 2011, he met His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani—may God protect him—when the Amir led Qatar’s delegation to the general debate of the sixty-sixth General Assembly session. Yousef was entrusted with the programme for the entire New York visit. The confidence shown in him increased his sense of responsibility and exposed him to the full range of a Qatari diplomat’s duties. He continued to supervise programmes for the Father Amir and His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani through September 2015.

His tenure encompassed major achievements and difficult tests. New initiatives were needed to protect Qatar’s work in international institutions, particularly during the blockade. One result was approval of the “United Nations House in Qatar” initiative.

He also regards the private sector as essential to national development and prosperity. Through participation in several companies, he sought to make a constructive contribution despite the challenges facing commercial activity.