Career 1996 – present

Scale: 1996 to 2026. Roles overlapped in 2017, when he held private, state-company and government posts in the same year.

1. 1996– 1998

   Private sector

   Vice-Chairman

   Saudi Company for Maintenance and Operation

   Role

   Vice-chairman. Gulf News describes the position as deputy chief executive; other profiles use vice-chairman.

   Context

   His first documented position, taken up at about the age of 22.

   Significance

   Marks the start of more than two decades in business before public office.

   Sources

   Arab News (2019); Saudipedia; Argaam (2019); Gulf News (2019).

2. 2001– 2013

   Private sector · joint venture

   Board representative of Boeing; Vice-Chairman, then Chairman

   Alsalam Aerospace Industries, Riyadh

   Role

   Represented Boeing on the company’s board, first as vice-chairman and later as chairman.

   Context

   Alsalam is a Riyadh-based aerospace company established as a joint venture with Boeing. The ministry’s biography gives the period as 2001–2013; Gulf News describes him as chief executive from 2000, a discrepancy this archive records but does not resolve.

   Significance

   The longest single role in his career, and the one most often cited as his introduction to working with foreign partners at board level.

   Sources

   MOFA biography (official); Arab News; Saudipedia; Argaam; Gulf News.

3. 2003– 2017

   Private sector

   Co-founder and Chairman

   Shamal Investment Company

   Role

   Co-founder and chairman.

   Context

   The company’s name is rendered differently across sources — “Northern Investment Company” in Saudipedia, “Al Shamal Company for Contracting” in an earlier Gulf News reference — and its start year varies slightly.

   Significance

   Ran in parallel with the Alsalam role and ended in the year he entered government.

   Sources

   Arab News; Saudipedia; Argaam; Gulf News.

4. 2017Jan – Apr

   Government

   Senior Adviser

   Office of the Crown Prince

   Role

   Senior adviser, as listed in the ministry’s official biography.

   Context

   His first government post. A separate “Royal Court adviser” title sometimes seen online is not documented by an official source.

   Significance

   The move from business into public service.

   Sources

   MOFA biography (official); Gulf News; Saudipedia.

5. 2017from

   State-owned company

   Board Member; Chairman of the Executive Committee

   Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)

   Role

   Member of the board and chairman of its executive committee.

   Context

   SAMI is owned by the Public Investment Fund, so this is classed here as a state-owned company rather than private employment. Gulf News dates the board seat to October 2017; Argaam still listed him as a member in October 2019. The date he left the board was not found.

   Significance

   Continuity with his aerospace and defence-industry background.

   Sources

   MOFA biography (official); Arab News; Saudipedia; Argaam.

6. 2017– 2018

   Government

   Adviser

   Ministry of Foreign Affairs

   Role

   Adviser at the ministry; the Al Jazeera encyclopaedia records the appointment from April 2017.

   Context

   His first post inside the institution he would later lead.

   Significance

   Direct exposure to the ministry’s work two years before his appointment as minister.

   Sources

   MOFA biography (official); Saudipedia; Gulf News.

7. 2018– 2019

   Diplomatic service

   Senior Adviser

   Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C.

   

   Role

   Senior adviser at the embassy.

   Context

   Saudipedia, Gulf News, Argaam and the Al Jazeera encyclopaedia date the posting to 2018–2019; Arab News dates it from 2017. The discrepancy is unresolved.

   Significance

   Working knowledge of the Kingdom’s most important security relationship, which he would later manage as minister with successive US secretaries of state.

   Sources

   Saudipedia; Gulf News; Argaam; Arab News.

8. 2019Feb – Oct

   Diplomatic service

   Ambassador

   Embassy of Saudi Arabia to the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin

   Role

   Head of mission. Appointed by royal order on 10 February 2019; presented credentials to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace on 27 March 2019.

   Context

   An appointment to the country of his birth, where he spoke the language fluently.

   Significance

   His only ambassadorship, held for about eight months before his recall to lead the ministry.

   Sources

   MOFA biography (official, appointment date); Diplomat Magazine (credentials).

9. 2019– present

   Government · current

   Minister of Foreign Affairs

   Kingdom of Saudi Arabia · member of the Council of Ministers

   

   Role

   Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Appointed by royal order of King Salman on 23 October 2019, succeeding Dr Ibrahim Al-Assaf; retained in the cabinet reconstituted on 27 September 2022. Al Arabiya reported that he was sworn in on 29 October 2019.

   Context

   The sixth person to hold the office since 1930 (Saudipedia).

   Significance

   See Minister of Foreign Affairs for the office and International Engagements for the record.

   Sources

   MOFA biography (official); Asharq Al-Awsat; Arab News (2022).