JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday extended by four years the terms of several governors and top officials including Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman, Eastern Province Gov. Prince Mohammed bin Fahd, and Prince Turki bin Sultan, assistant minister of culture and information.
Other princes and officials who received extensions were: Prince Abdul Rahman, deputy minister of defense and aviation, Prince Badr, deputy commander of the National Guard, Prince Ahmed, deputy minister of interior, and Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, undersecretary at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
The terms of Prince Mohammed bin Saud, governor of Baha, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, governor of Qassim, Prince Fahd bin Sultan, governor of Tabuk, and Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz bin Musaed, governor of Northern Border Province, have also been extended, the Saudi Press Agency said.
The extension of terms comes two weeks after King Abdullah reshuffled his Cabinet, changing four ministers and appointing — for the first time — a woman deputy minister.
He also named a new chairman for the 150-member consultative Shoura Council.
The terms of Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, assistant minister of defense and aviation for civil aviation affairs, Rashid bin Saleh Khunain, Nasser Al-Shathri, both advisers at the Royal Court, Abdul Rahman Al-Sadhan, secretary-general of the Cabinet, Prince Mohammed bin Saad, adviser at the Interior Ministry, have also been extended by four years.
Riyadh Mayor Prince Abdul Rahman Al-Muqrin, Hamad Al-Khuwaiter, Royal Court adviser, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Faleh, deputy chairman of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, Abdul Rahman Al-Jammaz, adviser at the Interior Ministry, Fahd bin Muammar, governor of Taif, Ali Al-Ghafees, governor of Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, Yousuf Al-Bassam, deputy chairman of Saudi Fund for Development, Abdul Aziz Al-Hosain, mayor of Madinah, Daifullah Al-Otaibi, mayor of Eastern Province, and Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamdi, president of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, also received extensions.
In a related development, King Abdullah removed Abdul Rahman Al-Jedaie from the Shoura Council on his request, SPA said, quoting a Royal Decree. Mansour bin Saad Al-Keraides has been appointed as a new Shoura member, it added.
Meanwhile, Crown Prince Sultan, who underwent a surgical operation at a New York hospital last Monday, received calls from Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Djibouti President Ismail Guelleh, and Bahraini Premier Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, congratulating him on the success of the operation and wishing him good health.
