Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Saudi Arabia)


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a government ministry in Saudi Arabia responsible for managing the Kingdom’s foreign policy and international relations. It oversees the diplomatic, political, cultural, and economic relations with other countries and international organizations.

History

During the consolidation of the newly formed Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, King Abdulaziz established foreign diplomatic relations by sending representatives abroad. A branch of the Directorate of Foreign Affairs was also opened in Jeddah. The first Director General of Foreign Affairs was Abdullah Al-Damluji, who also served as ruler of the Hejaz at the time.
In 1930, a royal decree elevated the Directorate General of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. King Abdulaziz appointed his son, Prince Faisal, who later became King and prime minister Faisal, as the first foreign minister. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formally established in 1932.
Initially, the ministry consisted of five departments: the private office and the departments of oriental affairs, administrative affairs, political affairs, and consular affairs. The ministry subsequently began establishing diplomatic missions abroad. The first mission was opened in Cairo in 1926, followed by another in London in 1930. The number of missions increased from five in 1936 to 18 in 1951 and continued to expand thereafter.
Prince Faisal continued to serve as foreign minister after ascending the throne as King. Following his assassination in 1975, he was succeeded as foreign minister by his son, Saud Al-Faisal. Prince Saud was the longest-serving foreign minister of any country in modern times.
The ministry launched its magazine, The Diplomat, in 2007. In 2010, it was reported that Turki Al-Faisal was expected to succeed Saud Al-Faisal upon his retirement; however, this did not occur.

Senior officials

The senior officials in the ministry are as follows:
OfficialRank
Faisal bin FarhanMinister of Foreign Affairs
Waleed A. ElkhereijiDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sara Al-SayyidDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Public Diplomacy
Adel al-JubeirMinister of State for Foreign Affairs

List of ministers

List of ministers of state for foreign affairs

Building

The building of the ministry is in Riyadh and was designed by Henning Larsen. It blends both vernacular and monumental styles of Islamic architecture. Larsen received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989 for his work on the building.
Built in 1984, the building consists of meeting, conference and prayer rooms, a library and a banquet hall. Externally, the building appears as a fortress that was carved out of a single piece of stone.