Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Council of Ministers (Arabic: مجلس الوزراء السعودي‎ Majlis al-Wuzarā' as-Su‘ūdī) is the cabinet of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is led by the King who is Prime Minister. The council consists of the King, the Crown Prince, and cabinet ministers. The Crown Prince is also First Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of the Council of Ministers. Since 2015, there are 23 ministers with portfolio and seven ministers of state, two of whom have special responsibilities. All members of the council are appointed by royal decree.[1]

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The Council of Ministers was established by King Abdulaziz in 1953. It is responsible for "drafting and overseeing the implementation of the internal, external, financial, economic, educational and defense policies, and general affairs of the state."[1] Legislation must be ratified by royal decree and be found to be fully compatible with the kingdom's interpretation of Shari'a law. It meets every Tuesday and is chaired by the King in his capacity as Prime Minister or one of his deputies.[2][3]

The present law governing the form and function of the Council of Ministers was issued by King Fahd in 1993 CE/1414 AH.[1] Among others, it stipulates that every member of the Council must be "a Saudi national by birth and descent; well-known for righteousness and capability;" and "not previously convicted for a crime of immorality or dishonor."[1]

In the early hours of 29 April 2015, King Salman issued 25 royal decrees which included a cabinet reshuffle. This included the removal of his brother Muqrin bin Abdulaziz as Crown Prince and appointment of his nephew Muhammad bin Nayef. The king appointed his son Mohammed bin Salman as Deputy Crown Prince.[4][5]

Members of the Council of Ministers
Saudi Council of Ministers[2]
Portfolio Minister Since
Prime Minister King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 2015
First Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Defense		 Mohammad bin Salman 2017 (FDPM)
2015 (Defence Minister)
Minister of the National Guard Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 2018[6]
Minister of Interior Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Saud 2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud 2019
Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Shaikh 2018
Minister of Education Hamad Al Sheikh 2018[6]
Minister of Justice Waleed bin Mohammad Al Samaani 2015
Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud 2019
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim al-Khorayef 2019[7]
Minister of Transport Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser 2017
Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabii 2016
Minister of Economy and Planning Mohammed al-Tuwaijri 2017
Minister of Health Tawfig AlRabiah 2016
Minister of Media Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabii 2020
Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan 2016
Minister of Culture Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud 2018
Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdurrahman Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadli 2016
Minister of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Saleh Benten 2016
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawahah 2017
Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Majed bin Abdullah Al Hogail 2020
Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi 2018
Minister of State Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud 2015
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir 1997
Minister of State Muttlab bin Abdullah Al Nafissa 1995
Minister of State for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan 2017
Minister of State for Shura Affairs Mohammad bin Faisal Abu Saq 2014
Minister of State Essam bin Saad bin Saeed 2015
Minister of State Mohammad bin Abdulmalik Al AsShaikh 2015
Minister of State Khalid bin Abdulrahman Al Eissa 2015
Minister of State Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban 1995
Minister of State Fahad bin Abdullah Almubarak 2018
Minister of State Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf 2019

CSPA and CEDA

On 29 January 2015, King Salman bin Abdulaziz ordered major changes to his government including a cabinet shuffle. Amongst a wide range of decrees and in a bid to streamline decision-making and make the government more efficient, the king abolished 12 public bodies - namely, the Higher Committee for Education Policy, Higher Committee for Administrative Organization, Civil Service Council, Higher Commission of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Council of Higher Education and Universities, Supreme Council for Education, Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals, Supreme Economic Council, National Security Council, Supreme Council of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the Supreme Council for Disabled Affairs - responsible for drawing up policies in fields ranging from energy to education. To eliminate redundancies, King Salman replaced them with two new councils linked to the Council of Ministers: the Council for Security and Political Affairs (CSPA) headed by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, and the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) headed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.[8][9][10]

See also

References
  1. "The Law of the Council of Ministers". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  2. "Biographies of Ministers". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  3. "Saudi Arabia Government". The Saudi Network. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  4. "عام / أوامر ملكية وكالة الأنباء السعودية".
  5. "عام / أوامر ملكية إضافة أولى وكالة الأنباء السعودية".
  6. "Saudi Arabia's King Salman appoints new foreign minister in sweeping Cabinet reshuffle". Arab News. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  7. "Saudi Arabia sets up new Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources". Alarabiya. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  8. "Saudi Arabia - Government - King Salman reorganizes Cabinet - Trade Bridge Consultants". Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  9. http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/PreparingSaudiFuture.pdf
  10. Omran, Ahmed Al; Said, Summer (29 January 2015). "Saudi King Shuffles Cabinet, But Leaves Oil Minister". The Wall Street Journal.
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