Inha University in Incheon granted an honorary doctorate in politics to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, on Friday.

Sheikh Ahmed, 50, who was the president of the Kuwait Olympic Committee from 1990 to 2001 and elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1992, is regarded as one of the most influential figures in not only Asian sports, but also in world sports.

He currently serves as the president of the Association of National Olympic Committees, while leading the Asian Handball Association and the Kuwait Football Association.

He used to lead Kuwait’s Ministry of Information from 2001 to 2003 and the Ministry of Oil (now the Ministry of Energy) from 2003 to 2006.

“He has made efforts to promote international peace and cooperation through sports and Inha University recognizes his contribution to winning the bid to hold the Incheon Asian Games 2014 (from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4),” the university said in a press release.

Participants of the conferment ceremony at Hyatt Regency Incheon included Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Inha Foundation and Hanjin Group; Park Choon-bae, president of Inha University; Kim Jong-haeng, chairman of the Korean Olympic Committee; and Park Yong-sung, honorary president of the Korean Olympic Committee.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)