“Muhammad Al-Tunisi has returned to his old position in the Ministry of Culture and Information as the period of his deputation to Okaz newspaper has ended,” Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said in a Twitter posting on Wednesday.

Hashim described the last five years as a “break” which he spent writing and engaging in other intellectual pursuits surrounded by a family atmosphere and away from the burden of the newspaper, which he headed for over 27 years, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.

Expressing happiness at his return to his old position, he underscored the need for developing the media for the future.

“Over the past five years the media, especially the journalistic profession, has undergone vast positive change in content and concept and so it is imperative to adapt to the changes with a more realistic vision catering for the needs of the reader,” he said.

Hashim, who left Okaz in 2007, is one of the leading figures of Saudi journalism. He served twice as member of the Shoura Council besides working as a professor of library information at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.