FaceOf: Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, KSA’s first minister of culture

Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al-Saud is Saudi Arabia’s first Minister of Culture.

He was appointed by a royal decree released on Saturday that establishes the Ministry of Culture as an independent ministry, responsible for activities related to culture.

Prince Badr is the current governor of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, a post he has held since the body was created in July 2017 to oversee archaeological and tourism projects in the governorate of Al-Ula in Madinah province.

He developed two agreements with the government of France and the Arab World Institute in Paris. He initiated a scholarship program for the province’s students and developed a partnership with the faculty of design at Harvard University to stimulate innovation and scientific and archaeological publications in the province.

Until Prince Badr’s appointment as culture minister, he was the chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), a post he has held since December 2015.

Prince Badr Al-Farhan holds a bachelor’s degree in law from King Saud University in Riyadh. He went to the same university as Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also graduated from the faculty of law and political science, majoring in law.

He served as a member of the board of directors of the General Authority for Culture and participated in the development of strategies to improve the culture sector in the Kingdom and enrich the Saudi cultural scene inside and outside the Kingdom.