Riyad Hamzah

Riad Youssef Hamzah is a Bahraini academic who serves as the seventh President of the University of Bahrain. Early life and education Hamzah received his PhD in Biochemistry (Enzymology emphasis) from the University of Houston in 1984. Career In 1985, Hamzah joined Arabian Gulf University (AGU) in Manama, the capital of his homeland, where he would go on to hold many leadership positions, including Director-General for Financial and Administrative Affairs from 1986 to 1994. In 1987, he established the AGU Biotechnology Program, the first in the Arab world. He was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences in 1990, serving in that office until 1994. He was then promoted to the Vice-Presidency of AGU, an office he held from 1994 to 2005. In 1995, Hamzah was appointed AGU's Professor of Environmental Biotechnology. He would also be appointed to the Higher Education Council, a division of the Ministry of Education. In 2011, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appointed him Secretary-General of the council, a position tantamount to Undersecretary at the Ministry.