Born in 1937 in Kuwait, Abdlatif Yousef Al-Hamad attended Claremont Mckenna College in California, graduating International Affairs with honors in 1960, before attending the Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Science International Affairs Programme. Returning home, he served as a member of the Kuwait delegation to the United Nations during Kuwait’s application for admission to the UN membership in the early 60s, before spending two years as Director, Kuwait Investment Company. For the next 18 years, he held the position of Director General at the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, as well being Director of the South & Arabian Gulf Society, an Educational & Philanthropic organization. During this time, he was Managing Director of the Kuwait Investment Company between 1965 and 1974, Chairman, Kuwait Prefabricated building Company 1965–1978 and Chairman of the United Bank of Kuwait
in London, 1966–1981. His other many roles include:
- 1967 – To date Trustee, Arab Planning Institute.
- 1991–To Date Member of the Board of Trustees South Center Geneva.
- To date Member of the Board of Kuwait Investment Authority.
- To date Member of the Advisory Council for Middle East and North Africa Region – The World Bank – Washington D.C.
- To date Trustee, Green Cross International.
- To date Trustee, The Earth Council – Costa Rica
- 1996 Chairman, Development Committee Task Force on Multilateral Development Banks.
- To date Member of the Higher Council of Education – Kuwait.
- To date Trustee, International Institute for Strategic Studies – London.
- To date Member of International Advisory Board on Foreign Relations – New York.
- To date Trustee, The International Crisis Group.
- To date Member of the Advisory Council of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies – the University of Chicago.
- To date Member of the Advisory Council of the Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, Princeton University.
- To date Member of the Board, The International Investor – Kuwait
- To date Member of the Board of the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) – Tokyo.
- He is married with two boys and two girls.