The Saudi National Security Council (SNSC) ( ar, مجلس الأمن الوطني) was the body in charge of coordinating

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

and

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

strategy. It was established in 2005 by

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi A ...

. The first secretary general of the SNSC was

Prince Bandar bin Sultan Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (born 2 March 1949) is a retired Saudi Arabian diplomat, military officer, and government official who served as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. He is a member of the House of Saud. From ...

, the former Saudi Ambassador to the United States. The assistant secretary general of the SNSC was Prince Salman bin Sultan until 6 August 2013. The council was abolished by

King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, , ; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King ...

on 29 January 2015.

History

The National Security Council was formed on 16 October 2005 by the newly crowned King Abdullah in response to major geopolitical shifts in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

region. The

occupation of Iraq Occupation of Iraq or Iraq occupation may refer to: * Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) (occupation by American, British and Italian forces) * Mandatory Iraq (Iraq under British Administration, 1921–1932) * Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) ...

made the region "a center for reconstruction, globalization and reorganization" with the entry of 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 ...

as a major player. In addition to its regional influence in the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

, Saudi Arabia is one of the leading actors in the

Islamic world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...

and has a central role in global

energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...

Role

The Council was formed to act as an organizational mechanism that coordinates the Kingdom's internal and external policies relating to national security, enabling it to respond effectively to rapidly changing domestic, regional and international environments. It had the power to declare war and investigate security agencies if they were involved in acts that threaten national security. Despite the formation of the Council, as with other Saudi government institutions, major national security decisions would continue to be taken by the most senior members of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

Membership

The SNSC was chaired by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

(who is also

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

), with the Crown Prince (who is also Deputy Prime Minister) as deputy chairman. Its affairs are coordinated by a permanent Secretary General. At the time of its formation, other members included the Minister of the Interior,

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

, Deputy Commander of the

Saudi Arabian National Guard The Saudi Arabian National Guard or SANG ( ar, الحَرَس الوَطنيّ, al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī), also known as the "White Army", is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The national gua ...

and head of the

General Intelligence Presidency The General Intelligence Presidency (GIP); ( ar, (ر.ا.ع) رئاسة الاستخبارات العامة ), also known as the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), is the primary intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. History Th ...

. Late

Prince Nayef Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, ''Nāyif ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd''; 1934 – 16 June 2012) was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and deputy prime minister from October 2011 and the min ...

, then interior minister, served as the deputy head of the SNSC.

Dissolution

King Salman dissolved the NSC on 29 January 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Council, National Security 2005 establishments in Saudi Arabia 2015 disestablishments in Saudi Arabia Government agencies established in 2005 Government agencies disestablished in 2015 Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia Government agencies of Saudi Arabia

Former government agencies of Saudi Arabia