Al ash-Sheikh
However, the Al ash-Sheikh's domination of the ulema has diminished somewhat in recent decades. This is in part because an increase in the number of students in the seminaries has led to an influx from other families, and the Al ash-Sheikh have not produced offspring in sufficient numbers to maintain a numerical predominance. Furthermore, in 1969, King Faisal abolished the office of Grand Mufti and replaced it with a ministry of justice. The minister appointed was deliberately not an Al ash-Sheikh, although subsequent ministers have been. Members of the family have held other ministerial positions but the family's representation in the cabinet dropped from three to two members in 2003 (the Minister of Justice and Minister of Islamic Affairs) and, as of 2020, stands at two ministers, Saleh bin Abdul-Aziz Al ash-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs and Abdullatif bin Abdulmalik bin Omar Al-ash Sheikh, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs.