Iyad Ameen Madani was born in Makkah and brought up and has lived most of his life in his hometown of Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
He worked for years as a writer and a journalist and was the editor of the Saudi Gazette, one of the first English Daily newspapers in the country.
He also was a member of the Shura Council; and a Cabinet Minister of Hajj and later for Culture and Information.
He is the first Saudi to hold the position of the Secretary Generalof the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a political organization with fifty seven member states.
Throughout his career, he had the opportunity to visit and network with more than sixty countries across the world.
He has published two books in Arabic on Saudi domestic issues. Now retired and lives in Madinah.