Saudi Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi is acting minister of media in addition to his current role. He was appointed by royal decree on Feb. 25, replacing Turki Al-Shabana.
Many Saudi state entities governing investment, tourism and sport were promoted to full ministries as part of a major Cabinet reshuffle.
Al-Qasabi earned his bachelor’s degree in civil administration from the University of Portland, Oregon, in 1981.
He has two master’s degrees — one in civil administration from UC Berkeley obtained in 1982 and another gained in engineering management from the University of Missouri in 1983. He returned to Missouri and attained a doctorate in engineering management in 1985.
Al-Qasabi worked as an assistant professor at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah from 1987 to 1998. He was also the general manager of Kra Est. for contracting from 1986 to 1997.
He served as the secretary-general of Jeddah’s Chamber of Commerce, and the supervisor of the festival “Jeddah Ghair” at the Jeddah Economic Forum from 1998 until 2002.
In 2002, he was appointed as the director-general of the Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Foundation, then became an adviser to the crown prince’s court from 2010 to 2011.
He was also the head of special affairs of the crown prince at the minister’s rank from 2011 to 2014.
Al-Qasabi was an adviser to the crown prince’s court from 2014 to 2015, and was appointed as minister of social affairs from 2015 to 2016. He has been commerce minister since May 2016.
He is currently a member of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, a member of the supreme council of Saudi Aramco, chairman of the Saudi negotiating team of the World Trade Organization, chairman of the Executive Committee for Improving the Performance of Business in the Private Sector.
