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Saudi Arabia
Local Government
Saudi Arabia consisted of fourteen provinces, or amirates , each
governed by an amir (governor) appointed by the king. In 1992
these amirates included Al Banah, Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah, Al
Jawf, Al Madinah, Al Qasim, Al Qurayyat, Ar Riyadh, Ash Sharqiyah,
Asir, Hail, Jizan, Makkah, Najran, and Tabuk. The larger, more
populous amirates were subdivided into districts and subdistricts.
In theory, the governors were responsible to the minister of
interior. In practice, however, the governors usually reported
directly to the king. In 1992 all amirate governors and most of
their deputies were members of the Al Saud. King Fahd's brothers,
sons, and nephews ruled the most politically important amirates;
other kin ruled the smaller amirates. The governors maintained
administrative offices in the principal cities of their respective
amirates, although none of these cities was designated a capital.
The governors' principal responsibility was to oversee the work
of both central government and municipal officials within the
amirates. The governors also served as commanders of the local
police and Saudi Arabian National Guard units and supervised the
recruitment of local men for these security forces (see Saudi
Arabian National Guard , ch. 5). In addition, each governor followed
the example of the king and held a public majlis, often on a daily
basis, at which he heard petitions from local residents. Typically,
the petitions pertained to local disputes, which the governor
either arbitrated or referred to an appropriate court. Some governors
considered the majlis an important link between the people and
government and employed several special assistants who investigated
local disputes and grievances.
The governors were assisted by one, or sometimes two, deputies
and, in some amirates, by one or more deputy assistant governors.
In amirates that were subdivided into districts, the district
officials were subordinate to the amirate governors. The mayors
of each city, town, and village within an amirate were formally
responsible to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, although
in practice they also were subordinate to the governor. Since
the 1960s, the Al Saud princes have discussed the merits of creating
amirate councils, elected or appointed bodies of local men to
advise and assist the governors. In early 1992, King Fahd announced
that he would appoint councils in each amirate; these councils
would assume limited local authority over some central government
functions.
Data as of December 1992
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