User:Turaif10/Ahmed Al Khateeb(2)

Ahmed Al Khateeb (أحمد الخطيب) is the first and current Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia. Between May 2016 and June 2018 he occupied the post of president of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, prior to which he served as the Minister of Health. He has also worked as an advisor at the Saudi Royal Court

In 2019 he was responsible for launching the Kingdom’s first international tourism visa.

Early life and career
Al Khateeb was born in Riyadh in 1965. He graduated with a BA in Business Administration from King Saud University, before obtaining a diploma in Wealth Management from Dalhousie University in Canada.

In 1992, he joined Riyad Bank and worked on the establishment of its Customer Investment department. He worked for eleven years at different managements at the firm. In 2003 he joined SABB Bank and participated in the establishment of Islamic banking (Amanah) before moving to its Private Services division as a general manager. In 2006 he established Jadwa Investment Company and then joined the Court of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as an advisor. Al Khateeb has worked as counsellor for the Minister of Defence Mohammed Bin Salman, and for the manager of the Ministry of Defence development project. He then moved to work as an advisor at the Saudi Royal Court.

Launch of Saudi Arabia’s tourism visa
In 2019 Ahmed Al Khateeb led the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Heritage’s launch of Saudi Arabia’s first international tourism visa, which allowed visitors to the Kingdom from 49 countries. More than 400,000 visas were issued in the first six months.

In addition to his role leading the Ministry of Tourism, Al Khateeb acts as Chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Tourism Development Fund. He is also a board member of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.

Current positions

 * Minister of Tourism
 * Chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority
 * Chairman of the Tourism Development Fund
 * Chairman of the board of directors for Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)
 * Heads the committee of Quality of Life Program
 * Chairman of board of directors for the Saudi Fund for Development
 * Advisor to the Council of Ministers General Secretariat
 * Advisor to His Excellency the Minister of Defense

Memberships

 * Secretary General and member of the board of directors for Diriyah Gate Development Authority
 * Board member at the General Authority for Military Industries
 * Board member at the Council of Economic and Development Affairs
 * Board member at the Public Investment Fund
 * Board member at the National Development Fund

Previous positions

 * Secretary General and member of the board of Qiddiya (2019–2021)
 * Chairman of Board of Directors for the Kingdom's General Entertainment Authority (2015–2018)
 * Minister of Health (2015)
 * Established Jadwa Investment Company (2006)
 * Advisor to Crown Prince at the Royal Court
 * Establishment of the Islamic Banking (Amanah) – SABB Bank (2003)
 * Establishment of the Customer Investment Department at Riyad Bank (1992)
 * General Manager of Private Services at SABB Bank