MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS AS OF MARCH 2008:

Prime Minister:
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
King Abdullah assumed the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on August 1, 2005, on the death of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. The son of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud, the legendary founder of the modern Kingdom, King Abdullah inherited his father's legacy as the guardian of a nation deeply rooted in the Islamic faith. He was Crown Prince to King Fahd from 1982 to 2005.

King Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924 and received formal education from religious scholars and intellectuals. He has commanded the Saudi National Guard since 1963.

MINISTERS WITH PORTFOLIO

Deputy Prime Minister:

Minister of Defense and Aviation, and Inspector-General 
HRH Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Crown Prince Sultan was Second Deputy Prime Minister from June 1982 to August 2005, and has been 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.

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.

Minister of the Interior:
HRH Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
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.

Minister of Foreign Affairs:
HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
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.

Minister of Agriculture:
Dr. Fahd bin Abdulrahman Balghanaim
Born:1952
Education: PhD Civil Engineering,Transportation, Michigan University; MSc Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Stanford University; BSc Civil Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
Positions Held: member of the services, public facilities, and environment committee of the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura)  2001-2003; Governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC); Deputy Minister for Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture and Water; Minister of Agriculture since May 2003.

Minister of Water and Electricity:
Abdullah Al-Hosain

Born:

Education:

Positions held: Deputy Minister for Electricity, and Governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWWC); Minister of Water and Electricity since April 13, 2004

Minister of Civil Service:
Muhammad bin Ali Al-Fayez
Born:
Education:
Positions held: Minister of Civil Service since 1999, when the Ministry was created.

Minister of Education:

Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Obeid

Born: 1942

Education:PhD and MSc in educational curricula and assessment, University of Oklahoma; BA in Arabic, Imam Muhammad bin Saud University; diploma in higher administration from Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh

Positions held:member of the Islamic Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura) 2001-2005;appointed President of the National Human Rights Organization on March 9, 2004; Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL) 1995-2000; Rector of the Islamic University of Madinah 1982-1995; Minister of Education since February 8, 2005

Minister of Finance:
Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Assaf
Born: 1949
Education: PhD in Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; MA in Economics, Denver University, Colorado; BA in Economics and Political Science, King Saud University, Riyadh.
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. 

Minister of Health:
Dr. Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Mane'
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Health since May 2003.

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.

Minister of Commerce and Industry:
Abdullah bin Ahmed bin Yosef Zainal Alireza
Born:
Education: BA in Political Science, Whittier College, California, USA.
Positions Held: Chairman of businesses and organizations including the Saudi Services & Operating Company, the Saudi Energy Services Company Limited, and the Saudi Trade & Export Development Company; former chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce (JCCI) and the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry; Minister of State and Cabinet member 2003-2008; member of the Supreme Economic Council since 2005; Minister of Commerce and Industry since March 2008.

Minister of Culture and Information:

Iyad bin Ameen Madani
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Pilgrimage 1999-2005; Minister of Culture and Information since February 8, 2005.

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.

Minister of Justice:
Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al-Ashaikh
Born: 1949
Education: ; PhD, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, 1987; MA, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 1980; BA, Shari'ah College, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, 1975.
Positions Held: Dean, Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University, 1975; Assistant Professor, 1988; Minister of Justice since 1992.

Minister of Labor:

Dr. Ghazi bin Abdulrahman Al-Qusaibi
Born: 1940, in Hasa
Education:  PhD in Law, London University, U.K., 1970; MA in international relations at University of South California, USA, 1964; law degree from Cairo University 1961.
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, and of Water and Electiricity when renamed in May 2003; Minister of Labor since April, 2004.

Minister of Social Affairs:
Abdulmuhsin bin Abdulaziz Al-Akkas
Born: 1947
Education: PhD candidate, MSc in Political Science, BA in Economics, University of Washington in Seattle, USA
Positions Held: Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura) 2001-2005;Managing Director then Assistant Chairman of the Board of Saudi Group for Research and Marketing, 1991-2001; previously with Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, King Saud University, and Saudi Aramco; Minister of Social Affairs since February 8, 2005.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources:
Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi
Born: 1935
Education: MSc Geology, Stanford University, USA; BSc, Geology, LeHigh University.
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.

Minister of Pilgrimage:

Dr. Fouad bin Abdulsalaam bin Muhammad Al-Farsi
Born: 1946
Education: PhD in Political Science, Duke University, USA, 1976; MA in Political Science, Portland University, USA, 1971.
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 2003-2005; Minister of Pilgrimage since February 2005.

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.

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.

Minister of Transport:

(formerly Communications)
Dr. Jubarah bin Eid Al-Suraiseri
Born:
Education:
Positions Held: Minister of Transport since May 2003.

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 ;
Dr. Saud bin Saeed Al-Met'hami (12/23/03;  for Shura Affairs)

Dr. Nizar Obeid Madani (08/29/05; for Foreign Affairs)