Board of Trustees

Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa , President

Mai Al Khalifa is the founder of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research, which opened in 2002. A historian and scholar, Mai Al Khalifa has published seven books on various aspects of Bahrain’s history. She is the recipient of numerous awards, amongst them the Distinguished Arab Woman Prize in the field of Administrative Leadership awarded by the Center of Woman Studies, Paris. Mai Al Khalifa was also voted one of the fifty strongest Arab women by the American Forbes Magazine.

Latifa bint Mohammed Al Khalifa

Latifa Al Khalifa has served on the Board of Trustees of the Shaikh Ebrahim Center since its inception. She studied Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Beirut Arab University and holds an MBA from Glamorgan University in Wales. Latifa Al Khalifa held the position of Cultural Attache Specialist in the Scholarship Department of the Ministry of Education from 1998-2006 and is currently the Head of International Organisation at the Bahrain National Commission in the Ministry of Education, Bahrain.

Aesha Khalifa Matar

Aesha Khalifa Matar has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Shaikh Ebrahim Center since its inception in 2002. Her work experience is in the fields of education, research and crafts. Aesha Matar is a member of the Awal Women Society in Muharraq. She holds a BA in Sociology from Beirut and a Diploma in Education from Edinborough.

Hasan Salman Kamal

Hassan Kamal has served on the Board of Trustees of the Shaikh Ebrahim Center since his inception. Poet, writer and researcher in his own right, Hassan Kamal served in the Bahraini government as part of the Ministry of Information for many years. He was Director of the Bahrain Broadcasting Station from 1980-1988 and Director of Culture and Arts and the Director General of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature from 1988-1998. Hassan Kamal holds numerous national and international honors of distinction, including the State Award for National Achievements (1992) and the First Class Efficiency Medal awarded by His Majesty the King of Bahrain in 2002.

Dr. Essa Amin

Dr. Essa Amin is a consultant uro surgeon at the Ibn Nafees Hospital in Bahrain and the President of the Bahrain Archaeological and Historical Society. He has translated numerous books from English to Arabic, including The History of the Portuguese in the Gulf, The Journey to Ryad, and the private papers of the British Resident at Bushair and Dr. Paul Harrison. He translated The History of Pearl Diving from Farsi to Arabic. Dr. Essa Amin has published numerous papers on the history of the region and lectured widely on historical topics locally and in the GCC states.

Dr. Ahmed Baqer Hassan
(Honorary member, 2008)

With a doctorate in Fine Arts from Sorbonne University in France, Dr. Ahmed Baqer was a major contributor to research studies in arts, culture and heritage of Bahrain and the region. He was a regular participant in local and international art exhibitions and was honored with numerous awards of distinction both in Bahrain and abroad. Dr. Ahmed Baqer became especially well known for his signature style of drawing with pencil and charcoal on collaged pieces of paper, and his consistently Bahraini and Arabian themes.