Saudi king reshuffles cabinet

30 December 2018
Key change is return of former finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf as foreign minister

King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud ordered a major reshuffle of his cabinet at the end of 2018.

The key highlight of the new Council of Ministers was the appointment of former finance minister Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz al-Assaf as foreign minister.  Al-Assaf was detained at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh in late 2017 as part of a government crackdown on corruption in the kingdom, and his appointment to the cabinet is widely regarded the return of an experienced statesman at a time when the kingdom is facing numerous foreign policy challenges.

Former foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir remains in the cabinet as minister of state for foreign affairs, and is expected to play a leading role in the kingdom’s diplomatic relations. Before becoming foreign minister Al-Jubeir was the Saudi Ambassador to the US.

The Council of Ministers members are:

  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud - Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense.
  • Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz al-Saud - Minister of State
  • Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud - Minister of State
  • Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz al-Saud - Minister of Interior
  • Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz al-Saud - Minister of National Guard
  • Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud - Minister of Culture
  • Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim al al-Sheikh - Minister of State
  • Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman al al-Sheikh - Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance
  • Waleed bin Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sama'ani - Minister of Justice
  • Mutlab bin Abdullah al-Nafisah - Minister of State
  • Musaed bin Mohammed al-Aiban - Minister of State
  • Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz al-Assaf - Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Tawfiq bin Fawzan bin Mohammed al-Rabeeah - Minister of Health
  • Mohammed bin Faisal bin Jaber Abu-Saq - Minister of State for Shura Council Affairs
  • Essam bin Saad bin Saeed - Minister of State
  • Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi - Minister of Commerce and Investment
  • Majid bin Abdullah al-Qasabi - Acting Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs
  • Mohammed bin Abdul Malik al-Sheikh - Minister of State
  • Abdurrahman bin Abdul Mohsen al-Fadhli - Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture
  • Khalid bin Abdurrahman al-Issa - Minister of State
  • Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir - Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
  • Khalid bin Abdulaziz al-Falih - Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources
  • Majid bin Abdullah bin Hamad al-Haqail - Minister of Housing
  • Suleiman bin Abdullah al-Hamdan - Minister of Civil Service
  • Mohammed Saleh bin Taher Benten - Minister of Hajj and Umrah
  • Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Jadaan - Minister of Finance
  • Abdullah bin Amer al-Swaha - Minister of Communications and Information Technology
  • Nabil bin Mohammed al-Amoudi - Minister of Transport
  • Mohammad bin Mazyed al-Tuwaijri - Minister of Economy and Planning
  • Ahmed bin Suleiman bin Abdulaziz al-Rajhi - Minister of Labour and Social Development
  • Fahd bin Abdullah bin Abdul Latif al-Mubarak - Minister of State
  • Hamad bin Mohammed bin Hamad al al-Sheikh - Minister of Education
  • Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabaneh - Minister of Media

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