‘I’m a normal person who has the opportunity to make a difference’: chief of Emirates ID reveals what drives him

Dr Ali Al Khouri was told by a teacher that he would probably not achieve very much in his life. That’s not bad for a man who, at the age of 40, is head of the Emirates Identity Authority.

“I think I have a fair idea of who I am – a normal person who has the opportunity to make a difference to the way people live and work,” says Dr Ali Al Khouri, director general of the Emirates IdentitShow more

ABU DHABI // Ali Al Khouri was 14 when he was told by doctors that he was the luckiest person alive. They were not wrong.

“One day, I loaded my bird-hunting gun and was showing off my shooting skills when my mother called us in for lunch,” Dr Al Khouri says. “I left the gun in the majlis area.

“Eager to get back, the minute I entered the majlis after lunch I saw my brother toting the gun and pointing at me from a distance. He didn’t know the gun was loaded and pulled the trigger.

“My family rushed me to the hospital. The bullet missed my heart and perched underneath.”

Dr Al Khouri thanks Allah for sparing his life “and letting me do all that He had predestined me to do in life”.

While he loved to hunt and shoot as a teenager he struggled in school, with one teacher declaring he would struggle to achieve anything.

“My father made me strong and made me become an achiever,” he says.

That teacher should be eating his words. At just 40, Dr Al Khouri is head of the Emirates Identity Authority. His goals are to serve his country and make a difference.

“I love to be with the sounds of people around me, whether it is the buzz of activity at home or the hive of activity in office,” says Dr Al Khouri, who completed his doctorate in engineering at Warwick University in the UK.

“My day begins rather early and usually ends pretty late, with nearly 18 to 20 hours of work. I love seeing people on their toes.

“That probably explains my drive. This passion keeps me energetic and the long hours become more a blur of joy rather than a struggle of management.”

Dr Al Khouri started his career with Abu Dhabi Police in 1990 and stayed with the Ministry of Interior until 2004.

He joined Emirates Identity Authority that year as chief executive of the IT and telecommunications department before reaching the post of director general in 2009.

“Today, it is the Government that comes to the citizen, providing instant access to services,” Dr Al Khouri says.

“We are engaged in several initiatives to expand the scope of the Emirates ID card in diverse spheres such as banking, retail and so on.

“Our focus in the future will be to play a pivotal role in cooperation with other public and private entities in the country, in the transition of the UAE towards full-fledged smart governance.”

Dr Al Khouri says the job brings many challenges.

But quoting the American civil rights activist Bernice Johnson Reagon, he says: “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyse you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.”

“I think I have a fair idea of who I am – a normal person who has the opportunity to make a difference to the way people live and work.

“I guess it is my military background and the development work at Abu Dhabi Police in my early career days that have put me in good stead in facing challenges and delivering the results.”

So how does Dr Al Khouri beat the stress that such a high-powered job brings?

“I enjoy being with my family and I do my own shopping at least twice a week,” he says. “This takes me away completely from work.”

He also likes watching films, which “seed my imagination”.

But Dr Al Khouri is fully focused on the task ahead.

“Identity and the ability to assert one’s identity goes a long way in determining us and our access to services,” he says.

“I have been fortunate to be associated with the most ambitious and technologically advanced national ID programme in the world.”