Saudi appoints new foreign, health ministers

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud appointed Adel Al Jubeir, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States as the country’s new foreign minister in a wave of reappointments across his cabinet, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Wednesday.

Aramco CEO Khalid Al Falih was appointed the new minister of health.

Aramco described Al Falih as “chairman of the Saudi Aramco board of directors and outgoing president and CEO” in a statement on Wednesday about a recent board meeting on Wednesday, appearing to confirm that he had been appointed as chairman, Reuters news agency reported.

King Salman also appointed Adel Al Fakieh, the labor minister as economy and planning minister early on Wednesday, and appointed Mufrej Al Haqbani as labour minister, as per a royal decree released early Wednesday.

Jubeir served as the Saudi ambassador to the United States since 2007 and will be replacing Prince Saud Al Faisal, appointed as foreign minister in 1975. Prince Faisal had asked to be relieved of his duties.

The top diplomat is a familiar face in Western media as he often spoke to reporters about Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of North Texas in 1982 and a master’s in international relations from Georgetown in 1984.

Meanwhile, Al-Faisal was appointed as an advisor and a special envoy of King Salman, as well as a supervisor on foreign affairs, the royal decree added.