It is known that Bahrain recorded its name in the pages of history as the first country in the Arabian Gulf region where oil was discovered, in 1932, coinciding with the collapse of the pearl markets, which was the pillar of the Gulf economy and the source of livelihood for the majority of the region's population. On June 2, 1932, the first well was discovered in the Jabal Dukhan region that produces oil in commercial quantities in Bahrain and the Arab Gulf states in general.
We are talking about this event, which changed the face of the entire region, especially after the discovery of oil in Kuwait in February 1938, in Saudi Arabia in March 1938, and in Qatar in December 1939, because the name of the one whose biography we will discuss is associated with the oil industry in Bahrain. He is one of her men who ably climbed her career ladder, from a trainee, then a dispatcher, then an employee, then a president, until he carried her ministerial portfolio after an outstanding self-made march punctuated by difficulties, challenges, and fluctuations that never frustrated him or shake his resolve.
Our conversation is about Dr. Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza, a kind, jovial, humble and decent personality, and a technocrat who has more than half a century of experience in the oil, gas, water, electricity and sustainable energy sectors, accumulated by assuming several senior leadership positions. In our conversation about him, we rely on a huge 750-page author, which he published in late 2022 under the title “My Journey for the Homeland”, in which he tells in detail about his abundant experience in life, study and work.
“Abdul Hussain Ali Mirza Hussain Ali” breathed life’s oxygen on the 2nd of August 1944 in Fareej Al-Mashbar, one of the great turfs of Manama, which gave birth to many distinguished Bahraini men in various fields. He was born at the hands of the first academically qualified Bahraini midwife and nurse, "Fatima Ali Al-Zayani" (1918-1982), inside his father's house near the police and security headquarters known as the "Castle".
His grandfather is the pious cleric, Hussein Ali, who married a woman belonging to the family of the House called Masoumeh, who acquired the title of Mirza in accordance with a custom followed by adherents of the Jaafari sect. The title Mirza is added to his name, and sometimes even precedes it, and it may overpower it. As for his father, the policeman Ali Mirza (1905-1985), who married Mrs. Maryam Ali Shaker, and they had 12 sons and daughters, he was ranked third among them after his two brothers Abdulaziz and Khalil, and before Faisal, Rabab, Muhammad Ali, Laila, Esmat, Adel, Youssef, Sawsan and Najat.
Minister Mirza says that his father, who rose in the security service until he became an officer with the rank of brigadier general, and a senior companion to the greatness of the ruler of Bahrain and its dependencies, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, may God have mercy on him, chose the name Khalid for him, but his birth coincided with the birthday of Imam Hussein, may God be pleased with him. So his maternal grandmother suggested the name “Abdul Hussein” as an alternative. He also told us that his father was keen to bring joy to his children, so he would take them to the “Algosaibi Cinema” and to the “Bahrain Hotel” for dinner, and he would join them in watching Aramco TV programs from Dhahran.
Our friend grew up in an average family, in a house dominated by religious and sectarian tolerance and strict discipline derived from his father's work in the police. And when the time came for him to enroll in education, he was sent to the Western Primary School (previously known as the Jaafari School and is now called the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq School). And in this school, which he used to go to with his male brothers on foot near their home, he spent 6 years of education at the hands of strict teachers, during which he excelled in his lessons, was diligent in attendance, and was loved by his colleagues, especially the stumbled ones, because he was helping them overcome their academic failures.
In 1955, he graduated from primary school, so he decided – like most of his classmates – to enroll in Manama Commercial High School in the Gudaibiya region, to which his family had moved to live. And in this school, in which he joined some of those who later assumed high positions in the state (such as Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Ali Saleh Al-Saleh, Chairman of the Shura Council and former Minister of Commerce, the late Habib Ahmed Qassem, and Abdullah Al-Madani, former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs), The man started a different study trip during which he studied subjects related to commercial specialization, such as accounting, bookkeeping, financial mathematics, the typewriter, and other subjects in which he excelled and excelled, but his greatest passion was the English language, which opened new horizons for him, especially with the encouragement of his British teacher, "Mr. Heidley" for him. And his frequent visits to the British Council library to borrow English books and novels, which made him, at that early age, familiar with the secrets of this universal language, reading, writing and speaking just like Arabic. In addition to English, he was fascinated by the subject of drawing and the accuracy, imagination and creativity involved in it, which later helped him to be creative and accurate in every work assigned to him.
He graduated from the Commercial High School in 1959, and was ranked first out of 32 students, due to his diligence and focus on studying, reading and reading without wasting his time playing and practicing various hobbies like the rest of his peers. Perhaps one of the signs of his sense of responsibility and his insistence on excellence and excellence is that during his years of enrollment in the commercial track in secondary school, he was simultaneously enrolled in the literary track in the evening shift, so he graduated with what is called today in universities a “double major.” However, what the man did not take into account was that the government did not allocate scholarships for university studies for graduates of the commercial high school, while he was aspiring to complete his university education abroad, especially in the absence of universities in Bahrain at the time.
Here Mirza turned to his father for help, but the latter asked him to enter the labor market for a period during which he could save money and gain some life experiences before he went abroad to study. Thus, in 1960, he joined the position of a clerk in the Third Minor Court, responsible for preparing the minutes and schedules of sessions, a job he said about in his book, that it made him feel important despite his young age, and taught him the virtue of providing assistance to the needy, and introduced him to people’s problems, issues, and accidents.
But the man, throughout his work in the court, did not forget the dream of university studies, so he was writing to various universities that study in English in the hope of obtaining a scholarship, until his correspondence resulted in him obtaining a scholarship from the University of Punjab in Pakistan to study economics. His joy was great, without thinking before the grant, especially with no other option, not to mention the low cost of living in a country like Pakistan, and thus not burdening his family beyond its capacity. Indeed, he traveled to Pakistan in 1961, and lived there as a student for a year, during which he suffered from the difficulties of adaptation, the lonely alienation, and the lack of hygiene. In the summer of 1962, he returned to Bahrain to spend his summer vacation with his family, but decided to use it for any work in order to save money to help him manage his living affairs in his second year of university. At that time, Bapco was the refuge for those looking for temporary summer jobs and acquiring skills and training, especially those who were proficient in English.
As fate would have it, Mirza, during his summer work at Bapco, would draw the attention of the training school principal, Vivian McKnight, who learned that he had obtained a GCE certificate that qualifies him to join British universities, and that he had ranked first in his class at Punjab University, and in the commercial high school, so he suggested that he join Bapco with He promised to send him to Britain to study, to which Mirza responded with immediate approval without thinking or hesitation before his family supported his choice, as it fulfills a dream he has always had.
Thus, the man began his work with Bapco as a trainee in a department that was considered at the time as the company’s bank, the “Treasury Department.” He seemed happy and proud to be entrusted with the treasury of the Oil Company, the largest company in Bahrain that pumps money into the joints of the state to revive life and business. From the treasury, he moved to work as a supervisor of the accounts department in the company’s seaport in Sitra, then he was transferred to the auditing and asset inventory department, in which one of his tasks was climbing crude oil tanks and high units in the refinery and other arduous tasks that helped him hone his skills and taught him patience and familiarity. On serious work, prepared to assume leadership positions later.
During this period, he worked hard to finish all of Bapco's difficult academic and training courses, so he was successful and was able to overcome all obstacles to be sent to Britain in 1965 with a group of his colleagues, and he became more mature, stronger, and broader experience.
Traveling to Britain and Europe
And because travel to Britain and Europe at that time was limited to a certain segment of the wealthy, and because the means of communication and media were not as they are today, Mirza and his companions began their journey in Britain by taking lessons arranged for them by Bapco in etiquette, the culture of living, eating, shopping, behaving, and moving on subway trains to protect them from the so-called With the cultural shock, and to be the best ambassadors for Bahrain and the scholarship company.
During the five years that he spent in London as a scholarship student, he moved in housing between more than one hotel, apartment and region, and he and his colleagues received support and care from officials in the offices of the Caltex oil company in London, which made them focus most of their attention on the goal for which they came, which is to obtain Administrative Accounting Certificate, but that did not prevent them from acquiring other experiences and knowledge by attending the sessions of the House of Commons, studying the subject of the British constitution, and tourism in nearby countries such as Germany, France and Denmark, not to mention enjoying the joys of London’s heritage, music and theatrics.
He returned to Bahrain in 1971 to rejoin Bapco, and moved around its departments, especially those related to accounts, purchases, salaries and investments. He gained from that a great practical benefit that was integrated with what he learned theoretically in Britain. His return to his country coincided with Bahrain obtaining its full sovereignty, which tempted some of his colleagues to leave work at Bapco in order to work in emerging government ministries, hoping for less tiring official positions.
Mirza, who at the time was receiving a monthly salary of 150 dinars, says that he also received generous offers to work in banks, customs and others, but he did not care about them, and preferred to stay in Bapco out of loyalty to her because she trained him, taught him and sent him. In fact, Bapco repaid him by sending him to advanced training and study courses to New York and the University of Hawaii, and granting him successive job promotions until, in the mid-seventies, he became an assistant to the general manager for financial and legal affairs at the age of thirty-two.
He witnessed the turning points of the oil industry in Bahrain
Mirza witnessed many sharp turns in the history of the oil industry in Bahrain, including the company's refinery fire in 1972, the ban on exporting oil to countries supporting Israel in 1973, and the negotiations between the government of Bahrain and the Caltex company that owns Bapco for the acquisition of Bapco by the former and its Bahrainization, which was accomplished in the year 1997, and our friend was a witness to it and a participant in it.
After that, our friend assumed many leadership positions, from the Director General of Financial and Administrative Affairs of Bapco to its Executive Vice President and member of its executive board, to its CEO, up to his appointment as a member of the Shura Council in 2000, then Chairman of the Tender Board in 2003, then Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs in 2005, then Minister of State for Affairs Oil and Gas and Chairman of the National Oil and Gas Authority, Minister of Oil and Gas Affairs in 2006, Minister of Energy responsible for oil, gas, electricity and water in 2011, Minister of State for Electricity and Water Affairs in 2012, Minister of Energy again in 2014, Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs in 2016, and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Authority in 2019, as Chairman of the Vocational Education Development Committee in 2020. In January 2022, he retired from work, but in the following month a decision was issued by His Highness Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Holding Company for Oil and Natural Gas to appoint Mirza as an advisor to the Board of Directors of the Holding Company and His Highness.
Great positions and important roles
By virtue of the aforementioned positions, the man was able to lead the Bahrain delegation to many Arab, regional and international conferences related to oil, energy and sustainable energy, and to accompany his King in most of His Majesty's official visits to brotherly and friendly countries, and to participate in some Gulf summits.
It is worth noting that Mirza played, by virtue of his positions, a major role in securing access to electricity and water to the population during the unrest that Bahrain witnessed in 2011. He also played in 1971, by virtue of his academic specialization, an influential role in establishing the Bahraini Accountants Association, which is one of the The oldest professional association in the Gulf region. To his credit, he engineered and prepared all the papers, files, and data of the September 2015 agreement for the construction of the new oil pipeline linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which was inaugurated in 2018.
Finally, it must be noted that in 1998, while he was at the helm of his ministerial work, he decided to complete his dissertation to obtain a Ph. To meet with the supervisor on his message and discuss it.
Written by: Dr. Abdullah Al-Madani abu_taymour@