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. The council consists of the king, the Crown Prince, and cabinet ministers. The Crown Prince is also the Prime minister and Chairman 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]

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] It functions in accordance with the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia and is advised by the Consultative Assembly.[2] Legislation must be ratified by a royal decree. It meets every Tuesday and is chaired by the Crown Prince in his capacity as Prime Minister or one of his deputies.[3][4] It is the final authority for financial, executive and administrative matters. Its resolutions are non-binding unless agreed upon by a majority vote. In case of a tie, the Prime Minister casts the tie-breaking vote. The present law governing the form and function of the Council of Ministers was issued by King Fahd in 1993.[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.[5][6]

In another reshuffle on 21 June 2017, King Salman has removed his nephew as Crown Prince and appointed his son, Mohammed bin Salman, as the new Crown Prince.[7][8]

Members of the Council of Ministers

Saudi Council of Ministers[3]
Portfolio Minister Since
Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman 2022
Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman 2022
Minister of the National Guard Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud 2018[9]
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 Al ash-Sheikh 2018
Minister of Education Yousef al-Benyan [ar] 2022[9]
Minister of Justice Walid al-Samaani 2015
Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud 2019
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar al-Khorayef 2019[10]
Minister of Transport Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser 2017
Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi 2016[11]
Minister of Investment Khalid A. Al-Falih 2020[11]
Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal F. Alibrahim 2021[12]
Minister of Health Fahad al-Jalajel 2021
Minister of Media Salman bin Yousuf Al Dossary 2023
Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan 2016
Minister of Culture Badr bin Farhan Al Saud 2018
Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdurrahman al-Fadli 2016
Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfig al-Rabiah 2021
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah al-Swaha 2017
Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majed al-Hogail 2020
Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Ahmad al-Rajhi 2018
Minister of Sport Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud 2020[11]
Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb 2019
Minister of State Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud 2015
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir 2018
Minister of State Motleb al-Nafisah 1995
Minister of State for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan 2017
Minister of State for Shura Affairs Issam bin Saad bin Saeed 2022
Minister of State Mohammad bin Abdulmalik Al ash-Sheikh 2015
Minister of State Khalid bin Abdulrahman al-Eissa [ar] 2015
Minister of State Musaad al-Aiban 1995
Minister of State Mansour bin Mutaib Al Saud 2015
Minister of State Saleh bin Abdul-Aziz Al ash-Sheikh 2018
Minister of State Ibrahim al-Assaf 2019
Minister of State Turki bin Mohammed Al Saud 2021
Minister of State Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh 2022

Council for Security and Political Affairs (CSPA) and Council of Economic and Development Affairs (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.[13][14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "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. ^ "Council of Ministers System | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". www.saudiembassy.net. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Biographies of Ministers". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  4. ^ "Saudi Arabia Government". The Saudi Network. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  5. ^ "عام / أوامر ملكية وكالة الأنباء السعودية".
  6. ^ "عام / أوامر ملكية إضافة أولى وكالة الأنباء السعودية".
  7. ^ Nicole Chavez, Tamara Qiblawi and James Griffiths. "Saudi Arabia's king replaces nephew with son as heir to throne". CNN. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  8. ^ Hubbard, Ben (21 June 2017). "Saudi King Rewrites Succession, Replacing Heir With Son, 31". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia's King Salman appoints new foreign minister in sweeping Cabinet reshuffle". Arab News. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Saudi Arabia sets up new Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources". Alarabiya. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "Royal Orders Issued 3 Riyadh". Saudi Press Agency. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim is the new Saudi minister of economy and planning". Arab News. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Saudi Arabia - Government dd- King Salman reorganizes Cabinet - Trade Bridge Consultants". Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Preparing for a Saudi Future - Interpreting Recent Changes in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  15. ^ Omran, Ahmed Al; Said, Summer (29 January 2015). "Saudi King Shuffles Cabinet, But Leaves Oil Minister". The Wall Street Journal.

External links

  • Statements of the Council of Ministers Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Law of the Council of Ministers Archived 20 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  • Ministry of Social Affairs Saudi Arabia
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