Tareq Al Suwaidan

Education

Trained in the traditional Islamic sciences in his youth, he studied in the United States: a BSc in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Pennsylvania State University (1975), followed by an MSc (1982) and a PhD (1990) in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.

Career

He worked as a reservoir engineer at Kuwait's Ministry of Oil from 1975 to 1977, then taught at Kuwait's College of Technological Studies until 2001. From the 1990s he also became a leadership and management trainer and consultant, and since 2001 he has chaired the Al-Ibdaa group. He co-founded several schools, including the American Creativity Academy in Kuwait.

On Kuwait Television, MBC and later Al-Resalah, he presented long-running series on Islamic history, the stories of the prophets and the history of al-Andalus, as well as self-development programmes. His many books cover management, Islamic thought, and illustrated histories of Palestine and al-Andalus.

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal removed him as general manager of Al-Resalah in August 2013 after he declared his membership of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has since faced restrictions in several countries, including being refused entry to Belgium in 2014, and an emiri decree withdrew his Kuwaiti nationality in December 2025.