King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, replaced his ministers of Education, Justice and Information on Saturday in a major government reshuffle – the first since he took the throne in August 2005 following the death of King Fahd. The reshuffle saw new chiefs named for the central bank, the Supreme Court and the Shoura Council. Also replaced were the heads of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Norah Al-Fayez became the first woman to rise to the rank of deputy education minister, in charge of a new women's education department. The changes made in the Cabinet and especially the judiciary signal a reinvigorated push for reform. Most of the new appointees are younger and more in tune with the diversity of cultural Islam, analysts say. At the Justice ministry, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdulkarim Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Issa, who was deputy chief of the Grievances Court, replaced Sheikh Abdullah Bin Muhammad Aal Al-Sheikh as minister. The Senior Ulema Council was restructured with 21 members to include all branches of Sunni Islam. Sheikh Saleh Bin Muhammad Al-Lehaidan, Chairman of the Higher Judicial Council, was replaced by Sheikh Dr. Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid whose post as Chairman of the Shoura Council went to the outgoing justice minister, Abdullah Al-Sheikh. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Humayen was appointed the new head of the Virtue Commission or Hayy'a, replacing Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith. The new Health Minister is the world renowned surgeon Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rabea, after Dr. Hamad Bin Abdullah stepped down. Iyad Amin Madani, who asked to be relieved of his post as Minister of Information and Culture, was replaced by Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Mohieddin Al-Khoja who was ambassador to Lebanon. At the Education Ministry, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad replaced Abdullah Bin Saleh Al-Obeid as minister. Similarly, Turki Khalid Al-Sudeiri vacated the post of chairman of the Saudi Commission for Human Rights and Bandar Mohammed Abdullah Al-Aiban was appointed in his place. Muhammad Al-Jasser was chosen to be the new governor of the central bank, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), promoted from vice governor to replace Hamad Saud Al-Sayyari. Sayyari had been at the helm of SAMA since 1983 when he was appointed acting governor before being confirmed in the post two years later. Analysts said it was unlikely that Sayyari's departure would lead to a drastic change in SAMA policies.
