Riyadh: The Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on Monday, issued royal orders, one of which includes appointing his son Prince Sultan as his special advisor, as well as naming a minister for the economy.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported that King Salman appointed his son Prince Sultan bin Salman as a special advisor to him with the rank of minister and chairman of the board of trustees of the King Salman Foundation (a non-profit charitable organization).
The Foundation is considered, according to Saudi media, an extension of King Salman’s charitable and humanitarian work over decades.
The prince had been head of the Saudi Space Authority, leaning on his experience as the first Arab astronaut to go to space in 1985.
The Saudi monarch also ordered the appointment of Faisal bin Fadhel bin Mohsen al-Ibrahim as Minister of Economy and Planning, and Badr bin Haddaf as his assistant.
As per Saudi media reports, Al-Ibrahim previously held jobs at Aramco and the country’s Council of Economic and Development Affairs.
In March 2020, King Salman assigned Finance Minister Muhammad Al-Jadaan to oversee the ministry, after Muhammad al-Tuwaijri was removed from his position and appointed as an advisor to the royal court with the rank of minister.
The royal orders also included the appointment of Abdullah bin Amer Alsuahh as Chairman of the Saudi Commission for Space Administration. King Salman also appointed Khalid bin Abdullah Al- Sabti as adviser to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
For the first time in the Kingdom, Iman Al-Mutairi was appointed as deputy minister of commerce, becoming the first woman to hold this position in Saudi Arabia.