# Council of Ministers 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.
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." It functions in accordance with the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia and is advised by the Consultative Assembly. 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. 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. 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."
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.
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.

## Members

Saudi Council of Ministers :
| Portfolio | Minister | Since |
| Prime Minister | Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud | 2022 |
| Minister of Defense | Khalid bin Salman Al Saud | 2022 |
| Minister of the National Guard | Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud | 2018 |
| 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 |
| Minister of Education | Yousef bin Abdullah al-Benyan [ar] | 2022 |
| Minister of Justice | Walid bin Mohammed al-Samaani | 2015 |
| Minister of Energy | Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud | 2019 |
| Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources | Bandar al-Khorayef | 2019 |
| Minister of Transport | Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser | 2017 |
| Minister of Commerce | Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi | 2016 |
| Minister of Investment | Khalid A. Al-Falih | 2020 |
| Minister of Economy and Planning | Faisal F. Alibrahim | 2021 |
| 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 Abdullah 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 |
| Minister of Sport | Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud | 2020 |
| Minister of Tourism | Ahmed Al Khateeb | 2019 |
| Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Adel al-Jubeir | 2018 |
| Minister of State for Gulf Affairs | Thamer al-Sabhan [ar] | 2017 |
| Minister of State for Shura Affairs | Issam bin Saad bin Saeed [ar] | 2022 |
| Minister of State | Motleb al-Nafisah | 1995 |
| 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

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.