Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud ( ar, بدر بن عبد الله بن محمد بن فرحان آل سعود ''Badr bin ʿAbdullāh bin Moḥammed bin Farḥān Āl Suʿūd''; born 16 August 1985) is a Saudi Arabian businessman and government official who is the inaugural

Saudi Arabian minister of culture The Ministry of Culture (MoC; ) is a governmental organization in Saudi Arabia was established in June 2018 and responsible for various aspects of Saudi culture. Minister of Culture is Prince Badr bin Farhan Al-Saud who was appointed as its new a ...

. He is in charge of various key positions directly related to the execution of Saudi Vision 2030. Prior to his appointment as minister of culture, he was the chairman of

Saudi Research and Marketing Group Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) (also known as the Saudi Media Group) is a Saudi joint stock company registered in Riyadh. The group mainly publishes, prints and distributes various publications. The company operates in Saudi Arabia where t ...

Early life and education

Prince Badr was born on 16 August 1985. He received a bachelor's degree in law from

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ar, جامعة الملك سعود) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in the K ...

Business career

Prince Badr began his career as a business executive and investor in the fields of energy, real estate and telecoms. In December 2015, Prince Badr was appointed chairman of

(SRMG), one of the largest media publishing companies in the Middle East, which subsequently expanded its operations into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Further developments during his tenure included a deal in September 2017 with

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

to launch its first Arabic-language news service, Bloomberg Al Arabiya; followed by the acquisition of a 51% stake in the Saudi online financial news service

Argaam Argaam (Arabic: أرقام) is a Saudi Arabian financial news portal and considered as the primary source to media and public for financial news as it provides real-time updates on financial markets as well as market data and analysis, interviews, ...

Government positions

Royal Commission for Al-'Ula

In June 2017 Prince Badr was appointed as governor of the Royal Commission for Al-'Ula, a newly established body to develop the 2,000 year-old historical site of Al-'Ula, in

Madinah province The Medina Province ( ar, مِنْطَقَة ٱلْمَدِيْنَة ٱلْمُنَوَّرَة, Minṭaqat Al-Madīnah Al-Munawarah) is a Provinces of Saudi Arabia, province (''mintaqah, minṭaqah'') of Saudi Arabia, located on the Hejaz, cou ...

, into a cultural attraction. In April 2018 he signed an agreement with French minister of Europe and foreign affairs

Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022) and as Minister of Defence under Presi ...

to involve French expertise in the restoration of Al-'Ula over a ten-year period.

Minister of Culture and other positions

In April 2018 Prince Badr was appointed to the board of the General Authority for Culture. On 2 June 2018 Prince Badr was appointed as Saudi Arabia's first minister of culture and stepped down as chairman of SRMG. The ministry's mandate is to advance the cultural programs within Saudi Vision 2030. In his first official statement, Prince Badr said the ministry would seek to enhance Saudi identity and would support the efforts of young people in creative fields.

References

{{Portal bar, Saudi Arabia 1985 births Living people King Saud University alumni Saudi Arabian princes 21st-century Saudi Arabian politicians 20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 21st-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople Culture ministers of Saudi Arabia