JEDDAH — Noted Saudi journalist and former Shoura Council member Dr. Badr Bin Ahmed Kurayem died Saturday morning in Riyadh after a period of illness. He was 80. Funeral prayers for the deceased will be performed at King Khaled Mosque in Umm Al-Hamam District of Riyadh after Asr prayer Sunday. Kurayem was born in Yanbu in 1935. He obtained a master's degree in sociology from King Abdulaziz University in 1986 and was later awarded a doctorate. Kurayem started his professional life in the government sector. He joined the Passport Department in Jeddah in 1954. His journalist career started in 1957 when he was appointed supervisor of publications in the Directorate General for Radio, Press and Publication. In 1980, Kurayem became the director general of Saudi Radio where he earlier worked as a broadcaster. Later he joined the Marwa Institution for Public Relations, Information and Media Production as director general. Kurayem was appointed director general of Saudi Press Agency (SPA) when he was working as deputy editor in chief of the Arabic daily Okaz, a sister publication of Saudi Gazette. King Fahd appointed him a member of the consultative Shoura Council in 2001. He also worked as a lecturer in the Media Department of Imam Muhammad Bin Saud University in Riyadh. Kurayem was the head of many media delegations that accompanied the late King Faisal during his tours within the Kingdom and abroad. He also served as a member of the Saudi Society for Information and Communications and as chairman of Ghazwah Center for Studies and Consultations. He was also on the Board of Directors of the Prince Fahd Bin Salman Charitable Society for Kidney Failure Patients.
