The
Council of Ministers 
The Council of
Ministers was established by King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud in
1953. It consists of the King who is the Prime Minister, the Crown
Prince who is Deputy Prime Minister, the Second Deputy Prime Minister
and Cabinet ministers. Under the bylaws announced by the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in September 1993,
the Council is responsible for drafting and overseeing the
implementation of the internal, external, financial, economic,
educational and defense policies, and general affairs of the state. The
Council meets weekly and is presided over by the King or one of his
deputies.
On April 30, 2003, King
Fahd issued Royal
Decrees renaming a number of ministries, and dissolving two of them,
effective May 3, 2003, to give a cabinet of 21 ministers with portfolio
and 5 ministers of state in addition to himself as Prime Minister and
Crown Prince Abdullah as Deputy Prime Minister.
Previous changes
are:
On July 16, 2001, the Council of Ministers resolved to divide the
Ministry of Agriculture and Water, and create a 23rd ministry; the new
Minister was named on September 16, 2002, and the Ministry of
Water came into effect on that date.
On June 16, 1999, royal decrees made changes in the cabinet, and created
a 22nd ministry, the Ministry of Civil Service.
On August 2, 1995, King Fahd issued a Royal Decree dissolving the
Council of Ministers and announcing the names of Ministers in the new
Cabinet under his chairmanship.
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Prime
Minister:
Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques,
King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
King Fahd assumed the
leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on June 13, 1982. The
son of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud, the legendary
founder of the modern Kingdom, King Fahd inherited his father's
legacy as the guardian of a nation deeply rooted in the Islamic
faith.
[full
bio]
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Deputy
Prime Minister
Crown Prince,
and Commander of the National Guard,
HRH
Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Prince Abdullah has been Crown
Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister since June 1982. He was
born in Riyadh in 1924 and received formal education from
religious scholars and intellectuals. Prince Abdullah has
commanded the Saudi National Guard since 1963.
[full
bio]
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Second
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, and
Inspector-General:
HRH Prince
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Prince Sultan has been Second
Deputy Prime Minister since June 1982 and Minister of Defense
and Aviation since 1962. He was born in Riyadh in 1928 and was
educated at the Royal Court. His first post was Governor of
Riyadh. In 1953, he became Minister of Agriculture, and in 1955
he assumed responsibility for the Ministry of Communications and
oversaw the establishment of Saudi Arabia's first railway
system.
[full
bio]
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 Minister
of Municipal and Rural Affairs:
HRH Prince
Met'eb bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Born: 1931
Education: Studied religion, economics and politics.
Positions Held: Governor of Makkah; Minister of Municipal
and Rural Affairs; Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation;
Minister of Housing and Public Works from 1975 to 2003, when the
ministry was dissolved and its functions redistributed; Minister
of Municipal and Rural Affairs since May 3, 2003.
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Minister
of the Interior:
HRH
Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
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Born: 1934
Education: Studied religion, diplomacy and security
affairs.
Positions Held: Governor of Riyadh, 1953-54; Deputy
Minister of the Interior; Minister of State for Internal
Affairs, 1970; President, Supreme Council for Information;
Minister of the Interior since 1975.
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Minister
of Foreign Affairs:
HRH
Prince Saud Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
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Born: 1940
Education: BA, Economics, Princeton University, 1964.
Positions Held: Deputy Governor of Petromin, 1970-71;
Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, 1971;
Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1975.
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 Minister
of Agriculture:
Dr. Fahd bin
Abdulrahman Balghanaim
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: member of the Consultative Council (Majlis
Al-Shura) before being appointed Minister of Agriculture in
May 2003.
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 Minister
of Water and Electricity:
Dr. Ghazi
bin Abdulrahman Al-Qusaibi
Born:
1940, in Hasa
Education:
Law
degree, Cairo University 1961; studied international relations
for MA at University of South California 1964, and for PhD at
London University 1970.
Positions
held: associate
professor, dean of the Faculty of Commerce and head of the
department of political science at King Saud University;
director general of Saudi Railways Organization; held cabinet
portfolios in health, and industry and electricity; instrumental
in setting up Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC);
chairman of Jubail Petrochemical Company (Sadaf) and Yanbu
Petrochemical Company (Yanpet); served on Public Investment
Fund, Supreme Manpower Council, and Royal Commission for Jubail
and Yanbu; ambassador to Bahrain 1984 to 1992; ambassador to
United Kingdom and Ireland 1992 to 2002; Minister of
Water since 2002, when the Ministry, created in 2001, became
effective; since May 2003, Minister of Water and Electricity.
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| Minister
of Civil Service:
Muhammad bin
Ali Al-Fayez
Born:
Education:
Positions
held: Minister of Civil Service
since 1999, when the Ministry was created.
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Minister
of Education:
Dr.
Muhammad bin Ahmed Al-Rasheed
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Born: 1944
Education: PhD, Higher Education Management, University
of Oklahoma, USA, 1972; MSc, Personnel Management, University of
Indiana, USA, 1969; B.A., Arabic Language, Al-Imam Muhammad Bin
Saud Islamic University, 1964.
Positions Held: Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Sharia and
Islamic Studies, King Saud University, 1964-65; Assistant
Professor, 1972-79; Associate Professor, 1979-89; Associate
Dean, Faculty of Education, 1974-76; Dean, Faculty of Education,
King Saud University, 1976-79; General Director, Arab Education
Office, Gulf Co-operation Council, 1979-88; Founder of the Gulf
University, Bahrain, 1979-88; Minister of Education since 1995.
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 Minister
of Finance:
Dr. Ibrahim
bin Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Assaf
Born: 1949
Education: BA in Economics and Political Science, King
Saud University, Riyadh; MA in Economics, Denver University,
Colorado, USA; PhD in Economics, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, Colorado, USA.
Positions Held: Lecturer in principles of economics
1971-1982, then associate professor of economics and head of the
Department of Administrative Sciences 1982-1986 at King Abdul
Aziz Military College in Riyadh; guest lecturer 1982-1983 at the
College of Command and Staff; part-time advisor to the Saudi
Development Fund 1982-1986; alternate Saudi executive director
at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1986-1989; Saudi
executive director on the executive board of the World Bank
Group 1989-1995; vice-governor of the Saudi Monetary Agency June
to October 1995; Minister of State and Member of the Council of
Ministers October 1995 to January 1996; Minister of Finance and
National Economy 1996-2003; Minister of Finance since May 2003.
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| Minister
of Health:
Dr. Hamad
bin Abdullah Al-Manie
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Health since May 2003.
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 Minister
of Higher Education:
Dr. Khalid
Al-Angary
Born: 1952
Education: PhD, Geography, University of Florida, 1981.
Positions Held: Assistant Professor, King Saud University,
1981-83; Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs,
1983-84; Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, 1990; Minister
of Higher Education since 1991.
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 Minister
of Commerce and Industry:
Dr. Hashim
bin Abdullah bin Hashim Al-Yamani
Born: 1945
Education: PhD, Physics, Harvard University, 1974.
Positions Held: Professor, Physics Department, King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals, Chairman, Physics
Department; Vice-President, King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology; Director, Department of Energy Resources, Research
Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals;
Minister of Industry and Electricity 1995-2003; Minister of
Commerce and Industry since May 2003.
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Minister
of Culture and Information:
Dr.
Fouad bin Abdulsalaam bin Muhammad Al-Farsi
Born: 1946
Education: MA in Political Science, Portland University,
USA, 1971; PhD in Political Science, Duke University, USA, 1976.
Positions Held: Assistant Professor, King Saud
University, 1976; Assistant Deputy Minister of Industry, 1977;
Deputy Minister of Industry, 1979; Deputy Minister of
Information, 1980; Minister of Information 1995-2003; Minister
of Culture and Information since May 2003.
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 Minister
of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance:
Shaikh Saleh
bin Abdulaziz Al-Ashaikh
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments,
Call and Guidance since 1999.
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 Minister
of Justice:
Dr. Abdullah
bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Ashaikh
Born: 1949
Education: BA, Shari'ah College, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud
University, 1975; MA, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 1980; PhD,
Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, 1987.
Positions Held: Dean, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University,
1975; Assistant Professor, 1988; Minister of Justice since 1992.
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 Minister
of Labor and Social Affairs:
Dr. Ali bin
Ibrahim Al-Namlah
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Labor and Social Affairs since
1999.
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 Minister
of Petroleum and Mineral Resources:
Ali bin
Ibrahim Al-Naimi
Born: 1935
Education: BSc, Geology, LeHigh University, USA; MSc
Geology, Stanford University, USA.
Positions Held: Joined ARAMCO in 1947; Supervisor,
Production Department, Abqaiq, 1969; Assistant Director, then
Director of Production, Northern Province, 1972-75;
Vice-President, Production Affairs, 1975; Vice-President,
Petroleum Affairs, 1978; Member, Board of Directors, 1980;
Executive Vice-President, Oil and Gas Affairs, 1981; President,
Saudi Aramco, 1983; Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources
since 1995.
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| Minister
of Pilgrimage:
Iyad bin
Ameen Madani
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Pilgrimage since 1999.
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 Minister
of National Economy and Planning:
Khalid bin
Muhammad Al-Qusaibi
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Planning 1999-2003; Minister
of National Economy and Planning since May 2003.
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| Minister
of Communications and Information Technology (formerly Posts,
Telegraphs and Telephones):
Muhammad bin
Jameel Mulla
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Communications and
Information Technology since May 2003.
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| Minister
of Transport (formerly Communications):
Dr. Jubarah
bin Eid Al-Suraiseri
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Transport since May 2003.
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Ministers
of State:
HRH
Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz;
Dr.
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Khuweiter;
Dr.
Muttlab bin Abdullah Al-Nafissa;
Dr.
Musaid bin Muhammad Al-Eiban;
Abdullah bin
Ahmed bin Yosef Zainal.
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