Mohammed Al-seif – Aleqtesadiah
Among the Saudi ministers who steered the course of administrative work in the early 1960s was Dr. Hassan Yusuf Nassif, who assumed the position of Minister of Health in the government formed by King Saud in December–January 1960. Nassif had risen through the administrative ranks before becoming a minister. After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine at King Fuad University (now Cairo University), he practiced medicine at Bab Sharif Hospital in Jeddah, then was appointed Director of Ajyad Hospital in Mecca in 1956, after which he was promoted to Director of the Health Delegation in Mecca.
In 1957, he was promoted again to become Director‑General of the Ministry of Health. In Riyadh, Hassan Nassif lived on the rooftop of the Fouta Clinic building before moving to the Al‑Ulaysha district after becoming Minister of Health.
One of the notable achievements recorded in the history of Dr. Hassan Nassif’s administrative career at the Ministry of Health is that he inaugurated what is now known as surprise inspections and undercover visits to hospitals and clinics. He would conduct unannounced visits, entering kitchens, laboratories, and clinics away from the eyes of journalists and without being accompanied by any of his assistants. Nassif was therefore the pioneer of this practice, which was later adopted by several ministers—both in the Ministry of Health and elsewhere.
Dr. Hassan Nassif’s tenure as minister did not last long; he left office after serving one year and three months, when King Saud reshuffled the government in March 1962, and Nassif was among those who exited the cabinet. After leaving the ministry, he decided to live abroad. He traveled to Egypt, opened a private clinic in Alexandria, and devoted his time to overseeing the education of his sons and daughters, some of whom had preceded him to Egypt for study while he was still a minister.
Hassan Nassif was an occasional poet, and most of his poetry took the form of zajal (colloquial verse), which he recited only on special occasions. Among these was a zajal poem he delivered at the 1959 ceremony honoring Sheikh Hamad Al‑Jasir, on the occasion of Al‑Jasir’s election as a full member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, after having spent ten years as a corresponding member. Nassif also recited a zajal poem at the ceremony honoring his colleague Abdullah Al‑Tariqi upon his graduation from the Faculty of Science at King Fuad University in 1944.
Hassan Nassif published his poems in the Saudi press under the pen name “Ibn Sina.” Among them was a poem he published in Hira’ newspaper in 1378 AH, responding humorously to the poem “Thawrat al‑Shakk” (Revolution of Doubt) by Prince Abdullah Al‑Faisal, then Minister of Interior, which had been published in the same newspaper. Nassif’s poem was characterized by wit and humor, in which he spoke about Prince Abdullah Al‑Faisal’s farm, Hayyalah, where the prince was accustomed to receiving his guests and cooking for them himself, as Nassif recounts.
Hassan Nassif contributed to the Saudi library his valuable book “Memoirs of a Former Student,” in which he recorded, with meticulous detail, many anecdotes, incidents, and stories related to Saudi students studying in Cairo during the 1940s. After this long career in service to the nation, Hassan Nassif now resides in Jeddah, enjoying good health. I believe he must have written his memoirs about his professional life and what followed, although my friends from the Nassif family deny this. Yet the one who wrote Memoirs of a Former Student must surely have written about the period after his student days—especially since he witnessed many of the transformations and changes that reshaped Saudi society in numerous aspects.