Saudi King Names Third Foreign Minister in Four Years
The Saudi King named Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud as his third foreign minister since taking the throne in 2015
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz named Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud as his third foreign minister since taking the throne in 2015, in a reshuffle that follows several government appointments in recent months.
In a series of royal decrees late Wednesday published by the official news agency, the king also named Saleh Al-Jasser transportation minister, replacing Nabeel Al-Amudi.
Prince Faisal Al Saud, 45, who recently was served as the kingdom’s ambassador to Germany, used to work in the private sector and defense-related businesses and was not well known outside the Saudi elite circle. He also served as an adviser at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington.
Former Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf was appointed as a state minister and a member in the Saudi cabinet, according to the royal decrees.
Both outgoing ministers sit on the board of the state oil company Saudi Aramco. The transportation minister was named to the board last month.
The removal of Al-Amudi follows a massive fire at the Jeddah train station on Saudi Arabia’s $16 billion flagship Haramain Express railway last month.
The handling of the incident, which caused significant damage, was widely criticized by Saudis on social media. Al-Amudi was cited as saying by Al Arabiya on Oct. 1 that the station would be operational again in 30 days. The railway connects the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
The cabinet shuffle comes after the Saudi king replaced Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih with his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in September.
--With assistance from Vivian Nereim and Fahad Alzahrani.
To contact the reporter on this story: Zaid Sabah in Washington at zalhamid@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sebastian Tong at stong41@bloomberg.net, ;Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul Abelsky
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