A former food executive and mayor of Jeddah with a reputation for pushing through politically sensitive reforms has become Saudi Arabia's point man for a wide-ranging revamp of the kingdom's economy to cope with an era of low oil prices.

Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakieh faced down strong opposition from the business community as Labour Minister during 2010-15 when he established quotas on the number of foreign workers companies could hire to boost local employment, the kingdom's biggest economic reforms in years.

With his troubleshooting reputation established, Fakieh was made acting health minister in 2014 to handle a major public health crisis when Middle East Respiratory Syndrome broke out.

Now he is being asked by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to develop reforms aimed at ending the kingdom's vulnerability to an unpredictable oil market.

Saudi Arabia's future stability rests on its ability to transition away from the economy's almost total reliance upon income from crude exports, something that has eluded previous reform efforts.

A supercommittee on the economy led by Prince Mohammed is working with Fakieh's Economy and Planning Ministry to develop a national transformation plan, which may be released in May.

Fakieh's track record of effecting change in seemingly moribund situations and his skill as a communicator are widely admired by people who have worked with him, both in government and from his private sector days.

"He is very very good socially and at getting people to agree. He's witty. He's also quite sharp. He gets things done to an extent," said a person who worked with him and asked not to be named because he had signed a non-disclosure agreement. "He's curious. He reads about behavioural economics, about international policy research."

He also makes extensive use of Western consulting firms, including McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group, Oliver Wyman and Bain & Co, several people who have been involved in economic planning under the new administration said.

STRUCTURAL CHANGE

Unlike in past administrations, when reforms were decided by a clutch of Al Saud members and enacted by the finance ministry and central bank, Prince Mohammed now sets policy in his supercommittee, the Council for Economic and Development Affairs.

The Economy and Planning Ministry, once regarded as the junior partner in government policymaking, works under Fakieh like a secretariat to the council, taking its ideas and fleshing them out into complex proposals.

So central has Fakieh become since King Salman, Prince Mohammed's father, took power in January 2015 that his department drew up significant parts of this year's budget, a responsibility that has always belonged to the Finance Ministry.

When the 2016 budget was unveiled to media on a glitzy television stage decorated with pictures of Riyadh's modern skyline in December, it was Fakieh, rather than Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf, who presented the macro-economic figures.

The budget included a general policy statement pledging large-scale reforms including privatisation, the reduction of dependence on oil and subsidy reform. That night, petrol prices were raised for the first time in years.

A performance management body to ensure government departments are implementing policy goals was announced in October and key performance indicators to monitor government departments are being developed, both orchestrated by Fakieh at the prince's request.

The Economy and Planning Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for an interview with the minister or members of his team.

While the long-term success of reforms will probably ultimately hinge on Saudi Arabia's ability to improve the quality of its bureaucracy, the leadership may be betting that getting change started is the more urgent priority.

"He is seen by the top leadership as a doer," said John Sfakianakis, a Riyadh-based economist.  - Reuters