King Salman reshuffles Shoura Council, Council of Senior Scholars

Riyadh : In a series of royal decrees issued on Friday night, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman reconstituted the Shoura Council and the Council of Senior Scholars, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

According to a decree, Minister of Labor and Social Development Mofrej Al-Haqbani has been relieved of duty. The King appointed Ali Al-Ghafis as the new minister of labor and social development, replacing Al-Haqbani. The King has reconstituted the Shoura Council for a period of four years and reinstated Sheikh Abdullah Al-Asheikh as the council’s president, Muhammad Al-Jafri as deputy president and Yahya Al-Samaan as assistant president. The King appointed 150 members to the council, who included Al-Jafri and Al-Samaan, while the council’s Secretary-General Muhammad Al-Amr has been relieved.

King Salman reconstituted the Council of Senior Scholars with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh as its chairman. Saleh Al-Lehaidan, Saleh Al-Fouzan, Abdullah Al-Asheikh, Abdullah Al-Turki, Saleh Bin Humaid, Abdullah Al-Mutalq, Ahmed Al-Mubaraki, Saad Al-Shithri, Muhammad Al-Issa, Abdulwahab Abu Suleiman, Abdullah Al-Khaneen, Yaqub A. Al-Bahussein, Mohammed Al-Asheikh, Abdulkarim Al-Khodair, Mohammed Al-Mukhtar, Suleiman Abalkhail, Jibreel Al-Busaili and Saleh Al-Osaimi are the 20 members of the reconstituted council.

In another decree, the King extended the term of four full-time members of the Permanent Committee for Fatwas. The four members are Saleh Al-Fouzan, Ahmed Mubaraki, Mohammed Al-Asheikh and Abdulkarim Al-Khodair. King Salman appointed Abdurahman Al-Sadhan as adviser at the royal court in the rank of minister.

Royal decrees have also been issued to relieve Director General of the Customs Saleh Al-Kholaiwi and Education Evaluation Commission Governor Naif Al-Rumi of their posts. The King has instructed the concerned authorities to carry out the orders with immediate effect.

Courtesy: MM