New Ministries

Saud had announced to the new Council of Ministers in his very first speech as King, that, while his Father’s reign was noted for military conquests, he intended his reign to be “a war on poverty, ignorance and disease with the equitable application of the dictates of the holy ‘Shariah’ (laws) to all without exception, and the creation of a strong army”.  He was to make a sincere attempt throughout his reign, to see to it that, Government policy planned and worked towards the realisation of these goals in the shortest time-span possible, no easy task, particularly given the local and regional circumstances.
In order to cope adequately with the responsibilities of this challenge, and facilitate realistically the implementation of his programme he initially, doubled the number of ministries to ten by adding the portfolios of Education, Agriculture, Health, Commerce and industry, plus two Directorates: Labour and Broadcasting and the Bureau of Public Inspection” in 1955, to the existing ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Interior, Defence, and Communications. In 1953, the decision had already been taken to move the ministries, then located in Jeddah, to Riyadh, the country's official capital. This had called for the construction of suitable new buildings and the provision of adequate housing for employees. This was ignition of the signal for Riyadh’s modernisation and development.  Saud’s next brother and heir, HRH Prince Faisal, was appointed Prime Minister, while retaining his former portfolio of Foreign Minister.  A sort of Five Year Plan – for it covered that duration – was produced for implementation.