In a major move, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has appointed Ali bin Nasser Al Ghafis as the new labour minister replacing Mufrej Al Haqabani and also revamped the kingdom’s top consultative body Shoura Council with key appointments, including 29 female members, said a report.

In a royal decree, King Salman also reshuffled the council of senior scholars besides ordering extensions for dedicated sheikhs who are members at the Permanent Committee for Ifta, which is affiliated with the council, stated Arab News citing a SPA report.
 
As per the decree, Mohammad Al Amr, Shoura’s secretary-general, has been relieved of his post.

The new formation of the council will see Abdullah bin Mohammad Al-Sheikh as speaker, Mohammad bin Amin Ahmad Al Jafry as deputy speaker, and Yahia bin Abdullah Al-Samghan as assistant speaker, stated the report.

Of the new Shoura appointments, 29 members are females. One of them is Lina K. Almaeena, a popular figure in Jeddah who has assiduously promoted sports among young people, especially women, said the report.

Cofounder and chief executive of Jeddah United Sports Company, Lina said she was thrilled to hear the news.

"I am very honoured with the royal trust. I ask God to provide me the strength to carry out this responsibility to serve the nation. Our country is full of opportunities and we should utilise them and make our Vision 2030 a reality," she said while speaking to Arab News last night.

As per the royal decree, Saleh bin Manie Al Khelaiwi, the director general of Saudi Customs, and Nayef bin Hashal Al Roumi, governor of the Public Education Evaluation Commission, have also been removed from their ports.

Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad Al Sadhan has been appointed as a minister-ranked consultant at the Royal Court, it added.