ANSD : Riyadh appoints first female ambassador

TUE 23 - 4 - 2024

Date: Feb 25, 2019
Source: The Daily Star

Riyadh appoints first female ambassador

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia appointed its first female ambassador early Sunday to serve as its top diplomat in the United States, pulling a son of King Salman back to the kingdom to serve as deputy defense minister. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, a daughter of the kingdom’s longtime ambassador to Washington Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud, faces a stark challenge in improving ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

She replaces Prince Khalid bin Salman Al-Saud, a son of King Salman and a former fighter pilot.

Princess Reema, who studied in the U.S. and is known in the kingdom for her philanthropic work, lived in the U.S. during her father’s over 20 years as the Saudi ambassador there.

Her father also served as the head of the country’s intelligence service.

“I will work with God’s permission to serve my country, its leaders and all its children and I will spare no effort to that end,” Princess Reema wrote on Twitter.

Her posting comes as Saudi Arabia under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman allowed women to drive last year.

However, the kingdom meanwhile has arrested women’s rights activists as part of a wider crackdown on any perceived dissent in the OPEC-member nation.

Prince Khalid returns to Riyadh as a deputy defense minister.

Prince Mohammad has held the position of defense minister even after becoming the next in line to the throne.

In a tweet, Prince Khalid said that his posting would allow him to again “be the sword” of the defense minister. “I ask God to help me achieve the vision of our leadership and serve the men I know who are faithful to their religion and homeland,” he wrote.

The elevation of Prince Khalid further centralizes power in one branch of the ruling family after the crown prince took control of most levers of power and policy in the world’s top oil exporter.

The appointment comes as Saudi Arabia remains mired in its yearslong Yemen war, which has also strained American relations with the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has faced growing Western criticism over its airstrikes hitting markets and clinics, killing civilians. U.S. lawmakers increasingly are pushing to withdraw American support for the conflict, which pits the kingdom and its allies against the Houthi rebels that hold the capital of the Arab world’s poorest nation.

Another royal decree from King Salman overnight granted a month’s salary as a bonus to Saudi soldiers defending the kingdom’s southern border with Yemen, where Houthi rebels have launched a series of bloody attacks.

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