As Saudi Arabia’s first Minister of Tourism, H.E. Ahmed Al Khateeb successfully established the tourism ecosystem, comprising of the Ministry, Saudi Tourism Authority, the Tourism Development Fund, the Tourism Development Council, the Air Connectivity Program, and the Saudi Red Sea Authority.

He is responsible for opening the Kingdom to international tourism and realising the sector’s full social and economic potential.

His Excellency is the Chairman of several boards including Saudi Tourism Authority, the Tourism Development Fund, Saudi Fund for Development, Saudi Arabian Military Industries, and the Saudi Red Sea Authority. He is also Secretary General of Diriyah Gate Development Authority and New Jeddah Downtown.

As Minister of Tourism, His Excellency was amongst the leading figures of the government framework guiding the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and currently Chairs the Quality of Life Program. During his tenure as Minister of Tourism, His Excellency has been one of the most influential driving forces in the Kingdom today, with his work spanning across Saudi Arabia’s most critical industrial sectors, including the military complex, foreign direct investment, and commerce.

Most recently, he led elements of the National Transformation Program 2020. Prior to joining the Ministry of Tourism, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, Minister of Health, and Advisor to HRH the Crown Prince at the Royal Court. He established private banking at Riyadh Bank and was also the Founder of Jadwa Investment Company, Founder of the Islamic Banking (Amanah) – SABB Bank and Advisor to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.

His Excellency has over 25 years of experience in investment and financial services, during which he established, managed, and restructured multiple private sector and government entities. He is known for his ability to drive institutional transformation to achieve long-term strategic objectives.

His Excellency holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from King Saud University, KSA and a Diploma in Wealth Management from Dalhousie University, Canada.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic on 8 July 2019, and re-elected in June 2023.

President of Nea Demokratia since January 2016, he managed to modernize his party, renew and boost its membership base, create a system of funding based on small annual donations by the members and put in place a code of transparency and accountability in the operations of the party.

He led his party to a landslide victory three years later, campaigning on a platform for jobs, strong growth, and lower taxes. Nea Demokratia was the first party to win an absolute majority in the Greek Parliament since 2009.

As Minister of Administrative Reform and e-Government from June 2013 until January 2015, he spearheaded comprehensive national reforms by implementing a functional reorganization of institutions, structures, and processes.

A member of the Parliament since 2004, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has participated in the Committee for Constitutional Amendment, the Committee for Trade, and the Committee for National Defense. He was also an active member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

As Chairman of the Environment Committee between 2007-2009, he passionately pursued issues pertaining to climate change and advocated for the need for environmentally sustainable growth. Since then, he was the shadow minister for the environment and climate change for Nea Demokratia until 2012.

Before entering politics, he worked for ten years in the private sector as a financial analyst with Chase Investment Bank, a consultant with McKinsey and Company, and finally as CEO of NBG Venture Capital at the National Bank of Greece.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Social Studies, summa cum laude, from Harvard University, and earned an MA in International Relations from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is married to Mareva Grabowski and they have three children, Sofia, Constantinos, and Dafni.

Apostolos Tzitzikostas is the Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. His task is to make European transport more competitive, sustainable and resistant to future shocks, and to ensure that it is safe, accessible and affordable for all EU citizens.

He is responsible for:

• working to ensure that the missing Trans-European Transport corridor parts are built by 2030, and strengthening the single market for transport services
• promoting a resilient and competitive tourism sector, in line with the EU Agenda for Tourism 2030
• putting forward a plan for an ambitious European high-speed rail network to help connect EU capitals
• developing a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation to help passengers buy one single ticket on one single platform and protect passenger rights
• putting in place a Sustainable Transport Investment Plan to scale up and prioritise investments to decarbonise the sector, including the electrification of road transport and the use of cutting-edge technologies
• focusing on different transport sectors, for instance by developing a new industrial maritime strategy
• coming up with a strategy for EU ports, focusing on security and competitiveness

Born August 6, 1970, in Athens.

Mr. Harry Theoharis was first elected in 2015 and on December 18, 2018, he joined the New Democracy party.

Mr. Theoharis holds an MEng (Hon) in Software Engineering from Imperial College, London, and has held high-ranking positions in private sector companies in Greece and abroad. He has also worked in start-up companies.

During 2011-2012, Mr. Theoharis served as Secretary General for Information Systems and is known for introducing new digital services to assist the public, helping to reduce bureaucracy and its associated costs.

He later (2013-14) served as Secretary General for Public Revenues at the Greek Finance Ministry. There, he succeeded in meeting budget revenues and producing a fiscal surplus. He is also known for launching the www.publicrevenue.gr platform to increase transparency in public administration.

From 2019 to 2021, he served as Minister of Tourism, where he focused on rejuvenating Greece’s tourism sector, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting sustainable practices and digital transformation. He was also the Parliamentary Spokesperson for the New Democracy political party from 2021 to 2023.

In the national elections of May and June 2023, he was re-elected Member of Parliament with the New Democracy political party. On June 27, 2023, Mr. Theoharis was appointed by Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Deputy Minister of Finance of Greece for taxation matters, a position he held until June 2024. During his tenure, he prioritized transparency, efficiency, and fairness in the tax system, while fostering an investment-friendly environment.

In the fall of 2024, Harry Theoharis took on a new challenge: running for Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with the endorsement of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. His vision is to lead a global effort for a more dynamic, modern, digital, and effective UNWTO, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and innovation.

Harry Theoharis’s extensive experience in public administration, crisis management, and tourism policy uniquely positions him to make a significant impact on the future of global tourism.

He is married to Dimitra Rigogianni and is the father of four children.

Olga Kefalogianni was born in Athens in 1975.

She is a graduate of the School of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1997) and holds two postgraduate degrees, from King’s College, University of London (LL.M, 1998) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston (GMAP, 2006).

She has worked in large law firms in Athens and New York, as well as in the Legal Service of the European Commission in Brussels.

From 2004 to 2006 she was an associate of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in legal matters.

She was elected Member of Parliament for the Prefecture of Rethymno (2007 and 2009), and, since 2012, she has been elected to the Athens A’ constituency (2012, 2015, 2019, 2023).

She served as Minister of Tourism in Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ government (2012 – 2015).

She has also served as Head of the Greek parliamentary delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (I.P.U), ambassador of the Greek Parliament to the Women Political Leaders (WPL) network, and member of the parliamentary committees of National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Production and Trade, Institutions and Transparency, European Affairs and Armament Programs and Contracts.

She is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Policy Studies on Gender and Equality – (KEMEFI) of the European Public Law Organization (EPLO).

She is married to composer Minos Matsas and they have two children.