Nizar bin Obaid Madani has been the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs since his appointment following a royal order in 2005.

Madani has much experience, having worked for the Foreign Ministry since 1965. He began his diplomatic career as an attache, then proceeded to the Saudi Embassy in Washington in 1968 and became charge d’affaires.

Madani participated in several international conferences and was among Saudi Arabia’s delegation at the UN, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Moreover, he headed Saudi Arabia’s delegation to several international committee meetings including those of the disarmament committee and the regional security committee in the multilateral negotiations on the peace process in the Middle East.

Madani was appointed a member at the Saudi Consultative Council, the Shoura Council, in 1993 and then reappointed in 1997.

He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Cairo University, a master’s degree in international relations, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the American University in Washington, DC.

Recently, Madani delivered a lecture on “The Kingdom’s Foreign Policy and Political Stances” at the Shoura Council.

The lecture was part of a “knowledge meeting” aimed at enhancing the concept of parliamentary diplomacy and updating the council’s members with recent developments through an open dialogue between the guest and the members of the council.