Saudi King Salman appointed a new Minister of Labor on Sunday and appointed 30 women to the Shoura council as the Kingdom seeks to turn short term economic pain into long term stability and diversification with its Vision 2030 policy.
Dr. Ali bin Nasser al-Afis (also spelled Ali bin Nasser al-Ghafis) is the new Minister, replacing Dr. Mufrej bin Saad Al-Haqbani who was appointed last year to the post, in April, as part of a larger reshuffling of the cabinet.
One of the 30 women, Saudi journalist and writer Kawthar Al-Arbasha, is the mother of Mohammed Al-Essa who, along with this cousin Abdul-Jalil Al-Arbash, were killed instantly while stopping a Daesh suicide bomber from entering a mosque in Dammam. She known to be an outspoken critic against sectarianism, according to the Saudi Gazette.
The Saudi Gazette reports that she heard the news of her appointment to the Shoura Council via a royal decree while she was visiting the United States as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. She was presenting a paper during a workshop examining democracy in the Middle East.
Dr. Mody Al-Khalaf.
Another Saudi woman, Leena K. Almaeena, was among the youngest members to be named as a member by royal decree. She is a prominent figure in Jeddah advocating for sports and youth and was named to Forbes’ list of top 200 women in the Middle East.
Also named to the Shoura Council was Dr. Mody Alkhalaf, a former employee of the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission and D.C.-area restauranteur.
