Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud

Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud is the first and current Saudi minister of culture. He is in charge of various key positions directly related to the execution of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. Prior to his appointment as minister of culture, he was the chairman of Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG).

Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud
Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia
Assumed office
2 June 2018
MonarchKing Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Preceded byOffice established
Governor of the Royal Commission for Al Ula
Assumed office
June 2017
Personal details
Born (1985-08-16) 16 August 1985
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
NationalitySaudi
ResidenceRiyadh, Saudi Arabia

Early life and education

Prince Badr was born on 16 August 1985.[1] He received a bachelor's degree in law from King Saud University.[2]

Business career

Prince Badr began his career as a business executive and investor in the fields of energy, real estate and telecoms.[3]

In December 2015, Prince Badr was appointed chairman of Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), one of the largest media publishing companies in the Middle East, which subsequently expanded its operations into the United States and United Kingdom.[4][5][6] Further developments during his tenure included a deal in September 2017 with Bloomberg to launch its first Arabic-language news service, Bloomberg Al Arabiya; followed by the acquisition of a 51% stake in the Saudi online financial news service Argaam.[7][8]

Government positions

Royal Commission for AlUla
Main article: Royal Commission for Al-Ula

In June 2017 Prince Badr was appointed as governor of the Royal Commission for AlUla, a newly established body to develop the 2,000 year-old historical site of AlUla, in Madinah province, into a cultural attraction.[9] In April 2018 he signed an agreement with French minister of Europe and foreign affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian to involve French expertise in the restoration of AlUla over a ten-year period.[10][11]

Minister of Culture and other positions

In April 2018 Prince Badr was appointed to the board of the General Authority for Culture, the government body responsible for promoting Saudi culture as part of the country's Vision 2030 program.[12]

On 2 June 2018 Prince Badr was appointed as Saudi Arabia's first minister of culture and stepped down as chairman of SRMG.[13][14] The ministry's mandate is to advance the cultural programs within Saudi Vision 2030.[2] In his first official statement, Prince Badr said the ministry would seek to enhance Saudi identity and would support the efforts of young people in creative fields.[15]

Salvator Mundi

On 8 December 2017, it was announced that Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi would be available for public view at the Louvre Abu Dhabi following its final acquisition by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism in the UAE.[16][17] On the previous day, it had been reported by The Wall Street Journal that Prince Badr had acted as an intermediary for Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in the purchase of the painting the previous month.[18]

References
  1. "Who is the new Saudi Minister of Culture?". CNN Arabic. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  2. "Who is the new Saudi culture minister and why was the ministry established?". Al Arabiya. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. David Kirkpatrick (6 December 2017). "Mystery Buyer of $450 Million 'Salvator Mundi' Was a Saudi Prince". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  4. "Prince Badr SRMG chairman". Arab News. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  5. "SRMG Chairman Inaugurates New Headquarters in London". Asharq Al Awsat. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. "Arab News owner SRMG inaugurates office in Washington's National Press Building". Arab News. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  7. "Bloomberg and Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG) Sign Agreement to Launch 'Bloomberg Al Arabiya'". Bloomberg. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  8. "SRMG buys key stake in Saudi financial news service Argaam". Trade Arabia. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  9. "A number of royal orders issued". Saudi Press Agency. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  10. "Riyadh, Paris Agree to Develop AlUla Province". Asharq Al Awsat. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  11. Aqeel Bukhamseen (9 April 2018). "Historic Saudi region to be developed with French partnership". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  12. "Allies of Saudi crown prince appointed to board of new culture authority". Reuters. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  13. Khaoula Ghanem (3 June 2018). "Saudi Arabia Has Appointed its First Minister of Culture". Vogue Arabia. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  14. Stephen Kalin; Marwa Rashad (2 June 2018). "Saudi Arabia names businessman as labor minister, boosts culture and environment". Reuters. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. "Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr makes first official statement". Al Arabiya. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  16. Kareem Shaheen (8 December 2018). "Leonardo's Salvator Mundi: Abu Dhabi bought world's most expensive painting". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  17. Yara Bayoumy (8 December 2017). "Abu Dhabi to acquire Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi': Christie's". Reuters. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  18. Shane Harris; Kelly Crow; Summer Said (7 December 2017). "Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Identified as Buyer of Record-Breaking da Vinci". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
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