Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia

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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 Prime Minister, the Crown Prince, who is First Deputy Prime Minister, and Cabinet 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 Al Saud 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 Monday 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 1993/1414 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 April 29th 2015, King Salman issued 25 royal decrees which included a cabinet reshuffle. This included the removal of Crown Prince Muqrin from his post and the placement of Prince Muhammed bin Nayef in his place, Prince Muhammed bin Salman is appointed First 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 and Minister of Defense Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 2017
Second Deputy Prime Minister "vacant"
Minister of the National Guard Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 2013
Minister of Interior Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Saud 2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir 2015
Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al Ash-Shaikh 2015
Minister of Education Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Issa 2015
Minister of Justice Waleed bin Mohammad Al Samaani 2015
Minister of Energy, Industry and Natural Resources Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih 2016
Minister of Transport Suleiman Al Hamdan 2016
Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi 2016
Minister of Economy and Planning Adel bin Mohammad Fakeih 2015
Minister of Health Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al Rabiah 2016
Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Saleh al-Awwad 2017
Minister of Civil Service Khalid bin Abdullah Al Araj 2015
Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan 2016
Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdurrahman Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadli 2016
Minister of Hajj and Umra Muhammad Saleh Benten 2016
Minister of Housing Majed bin Abdullah Al Hogail 2015
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Sawahah 2017
Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Abdullatif bin Abdulmalik Al Shaikh 2015
Minister of State Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud 2015
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar bin Obaid Madani 1997
Minister of State Muttlab bin Abdullah Al Nafissa 1995
Minister of State for Shura Affairs Mohammad bin Faisal Abu Saq 2014
Minister of State Essam bin Saad bin Saeed 2015
Minister of State Saad bin Khalid Al Jabry 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

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.[6][7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Law of the Council of Ministers". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Biographies of Ministers". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, DC. 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 - Government - King Salman reorganises Cabinet - Trade Bridge Consultants".
  7. ↑ http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/PreparingSaudiFuture.pdf
  8. ↑ Omran, Ahmed Al; Said, Summer (29 January 2015). "Saudi King Shuffles Cabinet, But Leaves Oil Minister" – via www.wsj.com.
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