Saudi king names new economy minister, eldest son as adviser

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman appointed a new economy minister and named his eldest living son as a special adviser in a series of royal decrees issued early Monday.

The king named Faisal al-Ibrahim as the minister of economy and planning, a move that promotes him from his post as deputy minister in which he had served since early 2018.

Al-Ibrahim has previously held jobs with Aramco and in the country’s Council of Economic Affairs and Development, according to Saudi state media reports.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan had been serving as the acting minister of economy since last year.

In another decree published in state media, King Salman appointed Prince Sultan bin Salman as a special adviser to his father.

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 space authority will now be chaired by Abdullah al-Swaha, who is also the minister of communications and information technology.

In a first for the kingdom, Iman al-Mutairi was appointed as deputy minister of trade, making her the first woman to hold the post in Saudi Arabia.