Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia
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Cabinet of the Kingdom 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 removed his nephew as Crown Prince and appointed his son, Mohammed bin Salman, as the new Crown Prince.[7][8]

Members

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See also: List of Saudi Ministries

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 bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh 2018[10] 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[11] Minister of Transport Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser 2017 Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi 2016[12] Minister of Investment Khalid A. Al-Falih 2020[12] Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal F. Alibrahim 2021[13] 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 Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli 2016 Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfig Al-Rabiah 2021 Minister of Communications 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 Ahmed Suleiman al-Rajhi [ar] 2018[14] Minister of Sport Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud 2020[12] Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb 2019 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs 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 [ar] 2017[15] Minister of State for Shura Affairs Issam bin Saad bin Saeed [ar] 2022[16] Minister of State Mohammad bin Abdul Malik Al ash-Shaikh 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

Reorganization

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On 29 January 2015, King Salman 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.[17][18][19]

See also

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Saudi Arabia portal

Politics of Saudi Arabia

References

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