Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who was hitherto governor of the Makkah region, has been appointed minister of education, replacing Prince Faisal bin Abdullah. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah, who was the governor of Najran, will take charge as the new Makkah governor.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah made the new appointments by issuing a Royal Decree, which said Prince Faisal bin Abdullah was relieved of his position as education minister upon his request.
Prince Khaled, the third son of the late King Faisal, has previously worked as the governor of the Asir region from 1971 to 2007 and at the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Arab Gulf soccer championship was his brainchild. Since 2007 he has been the governor of Makkah.
Prince Khaled is a member of the Allegiance Council, representing his father. He has been widely regarded by Saudis as a good administrator who has been doing his work with clarity and determination.
He was the chairman of a ministerial committee that was set up to find out the culprits behind 2009 Jeddah floods. He supervised a large number of giant projects that were carried out during the past three years to prevent flooding in Jeddah. He has won the applause of Jeddawis for spurring the city’s development.
Prince Mishaal is the sixth son of King Abdullah. He was appointed governor of Najran in March 2009. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in political science from King Saud University in Riyadh, he pursued his higher education in the UK. He has worked as head of the computer department at the National Guard from 1997 to 2003. He was later appointed minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry where he worked until 2006. He has also worked as an adviser at the Royal Court.