Moza bint Nasser

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned (موزا بنت ناصر المسند; born 8 August 1959) is one of the three consorts of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of the State of Qatar and mother of the current Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

She is the co-founder and chair of the Qatar Foundation, the largest state-owned NPO in the country.

Nasser returned to Qatar with his immediate family in 1977, the same year Moza, his daughter, married Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the heir apparent of Qatar at the time.

Moza is the second of his three wives.

Moza received a BA in Sociology from Qatar University in 1986, and holds a MA in Public Policy in Islam from Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

Moza is considered highly influential in Qatar, reportedly involved in planning a 1995 coup against her husband's father and playing a key role in her husband's decision to cede power to their son in 2013.

The Guardian has labelled her "the enlightened face of a profoundly conservative regime," while some refer to her as "the actual ruler of Qatar," and the "Matriarch of modern Qatar".

Under her husband and son's leadership, Qatar has both maintained relations with Western countries, including the United States, and Islamist militant movements such as the Taliban, Hamas and Jabhat al-Nusra.

In 2024, there has been a launch of a global media campaign called on HH Moza to leverage her authority to ensure the release of 132 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Moza is the daughter of Nasser bin Abdullah Al-Missned, a well-known opposition activist and former head of the Al-Muhannada confederation of Bani Hajer.

Born in Qatar, she spent much of her childhood in Kuwait during her father's exile following imprisonment for political activities and defiance against the policies of the deposed Emir Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani.

In 1995, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani assumed control of Qatar through a nonviolent coup.

Some suggest that Moza was involved in planning this move.

Moza co-founded and chairs the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), which was set up in 1995.

Following her Academic freedom, she has dedicated her efforts to advancing education reforms within her nation through the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development.

This non-profit organization was established by her husband the same year he assumed the role of emir.

She has been vice president of the Supreme Education Council since 2002 and was UNESCO's Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education in 2003.

In 2002, she and former Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani opened the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.

She is also a member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medicine.

Besides this, she is the chairperson of Sidra Medical and Research Center, a high-tech women's and children's hospital in Doha.

She also endowed this medical center with $7.9 billion.

She works with the UN to support global education and has been selected as a United Nations Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals.

She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2003.

She also holds an honorary doctorate from Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon, Imperial College London, and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

In 2007 and 2010 bint Nasser was listed as one of the '100 Most Powerful Women' by Forbes.

Moza also acted as chairperson of Silatech since 2008, chairperson of the Arab Democracy Foundation, and president of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs since 1998.

In 2010, she played a key role in the campaign to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

She denies the accusations of Qatari corruption in the FIFA world cup process.

In 2011 she placed second on the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed Women's list, and in 2015 she was named into the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.

As the public consort of the emir, she has represented Qatar at many international events, including state visits and royal weddings.

Moza is determinedly advancing ambitious initiatives aimed at enhancing the well-being of women, children, and education.

She is actively engaged in fighting domestic violence, advocating for improved Labor rights for children, and striving to enhance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

In 2012 she founded the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation to improve access to quality education in developing countries.

EAA is a partner of UNICEF and UNESCO.

She is the owner of Le Tanneur, a French leather-goods manufacturer.

She was also listed in the 'Top 100 most powerful Arabs' from 2013 to 2017 by Gulf Business.

She said that she is not a feminist, her EEF, Education Above All program requires non Qatari female students who wish to study require a “signed consent letter and undertaking by family guardian (allowing EAA to access and confirm private information of the family).”

According to a Los Angeles Times investigation published in July 2020, Sheikha Moza's son Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was accepted to USC as a transfer student from the community college Los Angeles Mission College after she met USC president C. L. Max Nikias in 2012 in Los Angeles, California, at the behest of USC trustee Thomas J. Barrack Jr.

She has had a major role in the opening of US universities in Education city in Doha.

Dubbed, “The woman behind Doha’s Education City” as part of Qatar’s soft power strategy on Western universities.