The formation of a new Shura Council in Saudi Arabia

A series of royal orders were issued in Saudi Arabia to reconstitute the Shura Council and appoint a new speaker for it, along with two deputies, one of whom is a woman, and the council, which has an influential advisory capacity, is scheduled to start a new session this week.

Royal orders published by the official media included the restructuring of the Council of Senior Scholars headed by Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh and the appointment of Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Luhaidan as President of the Supreme Court at the rank of Minister.

According to the Saudi Agency, the list of names was issued as royal orders, Al-Yamam Al-Monday, after reviewing the Basic Law of Governance issued by the royal order.

The Shura Council in Saudi Arabia is a consultative body that does not have any real powers. Rather, all that it presents are recommendations pending approval by the Council of Ministers headed by the King of the Kingdom.

In the context, the Saudi monarch issued a royal order appointing Hanan Al-Ahmadi to the position of Assistant Speaker of the Shura Council, in order to become the first woman to hold this position in the Kingdom.

In the first comment on this appointment, Al-Ahmadi said, “The issuance of the royal order appointing me as assistant to the president of the council represents an honor, crowning and support for Saudi women.”