Aramco CEO named health minister

29 April 2015

Khalid al-Falih also named chairman of Aramco replacing Ali al-Naimi

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has appointed Saudi Aramco’s CEO, Khalid al-Falih, as the kingdom’s new health minister, as part of his government reshuffle.

Al-Falih, one of the country’s most respected technocrats, will also be chairman of Aramco, replacing Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi in the role.

The executive, who has worked at Aramco for more than three decades, replaces Ahmed bin Aqeel al-Khatib in the health minister role. Observers in Saudi Arabia are viewing the appointment as a means to give Al-Falih ministerial experience in lieu of him eventually replacing the long-serving Al-Naimi as oil minister.

No replacement has been named for the CEO role at Aramco.

Khalid al-Falih

Biography: Khalid al-Falih replaced Abdullah Jumah as head of the world’s largest oil company in 2009 and immediately began to stamp his identity on the firm.

Under Al-Falih’s stewardship, Saudi Aramco has broadened its portfolio with several upstream and downstream projects, including a focus on gas exploration and production.

Al-Falih began his career at Aramco in 1979 and has experience in a range of roles. He was vice-president of exploration and has headed several key business lines, including exploration and production, refining, marketing and international operations.

Since 2000, he has been heavily involved in gas development and served as vice-chairman of Aramco’s study team for gas ventures, as well as vice-president of gas ventures development and coordination.

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