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Saudi Arabia
The Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers, created in 1953 by King Abd al Aziz
shortly before his death, was the principal executive organ of
the government. The Council of Ministers had authority to issue
ministerial decrees, but it had no power separate from the king,
who approved all its decisions. The office of prime minister had
been abolished by royal decree in 1964, but the king, in his capacity
as president of the Council of Ministers, served as the de facto
prime minister. The crown prince was designated the first deputy
prime minister, and the next prince in the line of succession
was the second deputy prime minister. In 1992 the Council of Ministers
consisted of the king, the crown prince, three royal advisers
who held official positions as ministers of state without portfolio,
five other ministers of state, and the heads of the twenty ministries,
including Minister of Defense and Aviation Amir Sultan, who also
served as second deputy prime minister. The ministries included
agriculture and water; commerce; communications; defense and aviation;
education; finance and national economy; foreign affairs; health;
higher education; industry and electricity; information; interior;
justice; labor and social affairs; municipal and rural affairs;
petroleum and mineral resources; pilgrimage affairs and religious
trusts; planning; post, telephone, and telegraph; and public works
and housing. In addition to these ministries, the Saudi Arabian
National Guard, which was headed by Crown Prince Abd Allah, was
similar in status to a ministry. The governors of Medina, Mecca,
Riyadh, and the Eastern Province, as well as the governor of the
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and the head of the General
Petroleum and Mineral Organization (Petromin) also held ministerial
rank .
The Ministry of Interior, which was responsible for domestic
security, was second in overall political influence to the Ministry
of Defense and Aviation. Since 1975 Amir Nayif ibn Abd al Aziz
Al Saud (born 1933), who was a full brother of King Fahd, has
been minister of interior. In 1992 Nayif ranked as the fourth
most powerful person in the country after Fahd, Abd Allah, and
Sultan. Nayif supervised the expansion of the ministry into an
organization that exercised considerable influence over the daily
lives of Saudi citizens.
As crown prince under King Khalid and as king in his own right
since 1982, Fahd brought into the government many talented men
from families other than the ruling Al Saud. In 1992 about 75
percent of the Council of Ministers were of commoner backgrounds.
Nevertheless, the key ministries of defense, foreign affairs,
interior, and public works continued to be headed by Saudi princes.
In addition, several of the king's younger brothers and nephews
were deputy ministers in these same ministries, in effect acquiring
on-the-job training to help ensure Al Saud control for another
generation.
Data as of December 1992
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