Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa biography

Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.

A leading figure in the Arab culture and art scenes, HE Shaikha Mai has spearheaded national efforts to develop the cultural infrastructure in the Kingdom of Bahrain for heritage conservation and the growth of sustainable tourism. The President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, HE Shaikha Mai is the foremost public expert in the field, holding the unique portfolios of the Ministry for Culture & Information and then the Ministry for Culture.

As the founder of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research and Chair of its Board of Trustees since 2002, she works actively to foster culture and preserve the traditional architecture of Bahrain.

Amongst her myriad achievements have been the 2005, 2012 and 2019 inscriptions of the Qal’at al-Bahrain, the Pearling: Testimony of an Island Economy and Dilmun Burial Mounds as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in addition to the founding of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage, a UNESCO Category 2 Centre.

Today, a role model for culture and heritage enthusiasts, HE Shaikha Mai was the first laureate of the Colbert Prize for Creativity and Heritage in 2010. The mastermind of annual cultural and tourism initiatives such as the Spring of Culture and Bahrain Summer Festival, her efforts have also been recognised by the Arab Thought Foundation, which bestowed upon her the Social Creativity Award.

The recipient of the Légion d’Honneur, the Moroccan Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Grand Officer) and the Order of the Italian Star as well as the First Class Order of Merit from HM King Hamad of Bahrain, she is also renowned as a local historian whose work has been published both in Bahrain and internationally.