Othman Al Omeir

Othman Al Omeir
Born	Othman Al Omeir 1950 (age 67–68) Al Zulfi
Residence	London and Morocco
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Madinah
Occupation	Journalist and editor
Years active	1970s–present

Othman Al Omeir (born 1950) is a Saudi-born British businessman, journalist and editor. He is considered to be close to King Salman of Saudi Arabia.

Al Omeir was born in Al Zulfi in 1950. His father was a Qutab teacher for a mosque in Al Zulfi. Al Omeir is a graduate of Madinah University.

Al Omeir began his career as a junior sports correspondent for Al Jazirah newspaper in Saudi Arabia in the early 1970s. Soon, he became managing editor and London correspondent of the paper. During his London correspondency, he studied the English language, and his tenure lasted until 1983. He then began to serve as editor-in-chief of The Majalla magazine from 1983 to 1987. Next, he became editor-in-chief of Alsharq Alawsat and worked in this post for ten years. Both The Majalla and Alsharq Alawsat are owned by the Saudi Research and Marketing Group. He also worked as the editor-in-chief of Al Yaum and was a member of the board of directors of Al Jazirah. During his journalism career, he made interviews with major world leaders, including George W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, Jacques Chirac, King Fahd and Gorbachev.

On 21 May 2001, he launched the first independent Arabic e-newspaper, Elaph that is based in London. The reason for choosing London as the center of the website was to be free from the censorship rules of Saudi Arabia and also, offer liberal viewpoints, particularly in opposition to religious radicalism. Al Omeir continues his interviews in Elaph. In July 2013 he interviewed Bahraini ruler King Hamad.

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